What an episode!
I absolutely love episodes where we get to see the strategy being played out, even if the ending is slightly spoiled. The editing, though, was absolutely brilliant. Even though I thought we were leading up to a Courtney exit after seeing Cirie’s strategy session, I still wasn’t sure whether or not she’d pull it off. If you need any more examples of Cirie’s skill at this game, then maybe you and I aren’t watching the same shows. From a purely strategic standpoint, Cirie has made a lot
of brilliant plays and clearly has a good read on other people and situations. Her smile and her giggle are part of the reasons why she is so endearing and popular with the other contestants. She’s bright, she’s funny, but never forget that she is a player. The move with Courtney this
week was just the icing on the cake, but she has been doing stuff like that all game, just more low-key. Her biggest challenge is going to be, and always has been, the physical aspect of the game, and as the numbers tighten, she is going to have a hard time winning Immunity in order to
stay in the game. Which means I am not sure if she can make the Final Two, because she likely can’t win the final challenge and she is too well liked. You say she may not win in a landslide, but it depends on who she is up against. Notice that right after the switch, Shane and Aras were
flat out telling her that she and Melinda were the next two to go. Now, everyone wants to include her in their alliance. Whenever someone has been mentioning a potential Final Four, Cirie’s name is mentioned, but no one realizes the threat she is. That’s power you can’t buy, and she’s fully aware that she has it.
Even though people have yet to beat Terry, which I can’t wait to see because I want to see the look on his face, it was great to see him get knocked off the strategic high horse once again. He thought he had it all locked up, and at Tribal Council he was reminded that he never did, and probably never will, hold any real power within that camp. The only thing keeping him alive is Immunity. The saddest thing of all, at least for me, since, as you know if you’ve been reading my column this season, I am not a Terry fan, is that now he looks guaranteed to be in the Final Three, because he would need to lose two challenges in a row in order to get knocked out, and we’re getting close to the end of the game. Ultimately, though, I don’t know if he can win this game. I hope he can’t, but I’m not sure if the Casaya Jurors will vote for him, not only out of spite, but also because he has not tried very hard to be nice to them. Maybe he has no chance in that area, but he should at least try. Anything is better than being outright arrogant and cocky about yourself and your success.
Moving on to Aras. He is definitely smarter than I gave him credit for in the beginning. You really can’t blame me, especially since he was one of the culprits of the “Hey, Cirie and Melinda, you are the next two to go!” fiasco. But since the merge he has really turned around, and this week especially I was very impressed. While I pegged him early on as someone who might struggle with decisions (especially moral ones), he jumped right on Cirie’s anti-Courtney campaign without a second’s hesitation. He is fully aware that his butt is on the line, and every chance he can get to save his skin is going to be good. He’s the only one who can potentially beat Terry in a physical challenge, and so he needs to stick around and knock Terry off his high horse once and for all!
Shane is in trouble. Cirie has for two weeks now gone against Shane, and after the Reward she managed to talk him down and as it appears from the preview for tonight’s episode she and Aras will be able to do it again. She is stringing him along, but you know the old baseball saying: three strikes and you’re out. After this, I seriously doubt that she is planning on keeping Shane. Personally, I think Shane would make a great Final Two partner because he is so volatile, but that’s the same reason Cirie ditched Courtney: she knew everyone wanted to take her to the Final Two. Shane may be facing a similar situation soon. Like Terry, it is quickly becoming apparent he has no true allies, and unlike Terry, he does not have Immunity to keep him afloat.
Finally, we come to Danielle. Danielle is not as smart as I gave her credit for earlier in the season. I could not believe either her or Terry talking about being fair in the Final Three. If I was in Courtney’s shoes, I would have felt the same way she did. It’s ridiculous. Danielle made the right move this week, but from what we saw, and from what Cirie said, it was like pulling teeth trying to get her to commit and stop being paranoid. She is highly competitive, and wants to win, but unlike Cirie, she does not see all the magical connections that can get her to that place. I definitely see her lasting a little while longer, but I don’t know if she has what it takes to win over a Jury in a Final Two situation.
Five people left, three episodes to go. (Don’t get confused, the finale is only going to have the Final Three, not the Final Four as usual.) We haven’t seen this since Australia, and so tonight we find out who the Final Four is, but there’s one more regular episode to go, getting it down to the Final Three. I thought the days were moving by slower; they’re behind where they should be in terms of day count, and now I know why. They need an extra few days so the Final Four can have a Reward Challenge so they can have a regular episode like they did in Australia.
So, three episodes left, and I have no idea how this crazy group will sort itself out from here! Tonight’s episode looks fun: family visit and, as the episode title states, a “bamboozling.”
“See” you next week!
