I know I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but I am truly shocked that Casaya is still remaining so solid. I never expected this at all.
I will say, however, that I am really enjoying this season. Even though Casaya is picking La Mina off one by one, this group as a whole has a lot of interesting characters, and there’s not really anybody that you desperately want to see off. Yeah, Shane’s a psycho and towards the beginning I was really hoping for his ouster, but he’s providing entertainment. That whole scene between him and Cirie was hilarious. But the cast as a whole has great characters and they’re making a great season.
And I just keep coming back this Casaya vs. La Mina thing. It’s fascinating. On paper, La Mina should have blown them away. And now, suddenly, La Mina is down to the last remaining member.
I’ve been busting a lot on Terry this season. His strategy on La Mina was very short-sighted, he came on to the merge making clearly fake offers for “not having to worry for the next two weeks,” and overall his strategic sense has not been as up to par as I’d like to be seeing. I did give him credit last week for making a good play for Danielle’s vote by offering her the Idol, and she’s the one who was wrong to turn that down in that particular instance. So, I was thinking after I saw that, “Hm, maybe he can redeem himself.” Then I saw this week’s episode. No such luck.
Listen, I don’t knock the guy for trying. He’s fighting like hell out there, and I respect him for that, any player should be doing all they can to stay alive. My problem is when the outright arrogance comes in.
I felt Danielle’s frustration when he kept going on about how he was going to beat them at everything. I don’t think he’s in a position to be arrogant when he’s in the vulnerable situation he’s in. Sure, he’s won three Immunities in a row and he has the Idol as a trump card. But it is going to be extremely difficult for him to win that many challenges, especially when you know some kind of “equalizer” challenge (one that anyone can win, i.e. a mental contest) or a popularity contest is coming up. He may think he can win everything, but it’s not going to happen, someone is going to beat him eventually, and in the meantime, by being so cocky, he’s not making any friends. If I were the other players, the first time he loses Immunity I’d vote for him anyway, even if they know he has the Idol. Because that would force his hand, he’d have to play it, and then it would be sent back to Exile Island and re-hidden.
At the same time as I’ve been finding Terry’s arrogance annoying, I also find Casaya’s interesting as well. I love that Jeff called Danielle on her comment about Terry when she was someone who sat out of the challenge to eat. I find it fascinating that the Casaya Six is so unconcerned about the Idol.
On one level, it’s actually pretty funny. By now, most of them know that Terry has the Idol, but they don’t really care if he uses it. The only one who cares is Aras, because he knows he’s the one who goes if the Idol gets played. And the others know that, too, which is precisely why they don’t care. They’re like “Ah, whatever, we want Aras to go eventually anyway, so it’s all good.” Which is also why they all, except Aras, took the deal for the food. They all knew they didn’t need the Immunity, and they really didn’t care if Aras got it or not. Because their mindset is, if Terry plays the Idol, Aras goes. Oh, well, he’s going eventually, anyway, and if Terry plays the Idol he loses it and it goes back out to Exile Island. Win-win for all, except for Aras.
That, then, makes me wonder why Terry hasn’t picked up on this yet. The past couple of weeks, the pattern has been the same thing. Vote for Aras and try to get the girls. He should have realized the first time that the girls weren’t swaying because even though Aras is their leader, they really don’t care whether or not he’s voted out. What Terry should have done is give the Idol to Sally, even if it was just a decoy that she would secretly hand back to him later to make the others at least THINK she had it, and then tell Courtney, Cirie, and Danielle “We’re voting for one of you, so that person will go home if you vote for Sally because she has the Idol.”
But, once again, when the plan they went with fell through, I do not blame Terry one bit for keeping the Idol. Despite his big talk, I hope he realizes that winning all the challenges is a feat that may not be able to be done, and he needs that Idol to be his trump card.
At the same time, though, is winning all the challenges a truly impossible feat? I think so, but I also thought that Casaya would never stick together come merge and they’re packed solid. We’ve seen stranger things happen on Survivor, and one person has beaten a six-person alliance before (Chris from Vanuatu being one example).
Let’s consider the possibility. Terry is definitely the most physical one out there, except for Aras. He has already won three in a row. Plus, he is competing against people who are slowly becoming complacent.
He is a physical powerhouse who is in heightened game mode because he is extremely aware of his vulnerability. That is a dangerous combination. Aras is the only Casaya member aware of his own vulnerability, and so he is also at a competitive level. But the others are not. They are secure, they know they are secure, and so they don’t have that same competitive edge that Terry has. That was clearly evident with how fast they gave up competing in the challenge for the food. Many of them volunteered even before Jeff finished speaking. That is a dangerous level to be at because this game can change on a dime. It looks like this week the Casaya tribe is finally going to start turning against one another, and I really, really hope Terry does not slip through the cracks and win. At this point, I will accept anyone winning except Terry and Shane (Shane’s entertaining, but he doesn’t deserve the million). I especially am cheering for Cirie.
I think Jeff said it best, though: Whether or not Terry can win everything, it’s going to be interesting to see. That’s what I love the most about this season. There’s always something interesting to go on, and the interpersonal dynamics and strategic decisions being made by these people are simply fascinating to watch. Regardless of how it ends, I think it’s going to be fun.
I hope you’re all ready for the long-awaited medical emergency! I hope everything turns out okay and no one has to leave the game!
“See” you next week!
