Survivor Gabon: Week 9

Does anybody want a cookie?

What an entertaining episode! This season really needed an episode like this one. Everything about it was really good... high tension, comedy, blindsides, strategy...

I'm going to go ahead and talk about Randy. I have always been so uneven about how I felt about him. He is a great character for this show, you can't deny that and he has really saved this season in a lot of ways. He is almost so miserable though, and so aware of it, you really lose the ability to hate to love him. That said, I kind of liked his strategy to go completely crazy on everybody. I think it mainly stems from the fact that I could never be that crass and rude, but there really was some intelligence behind what he was trying to do. Too bad for him it completely backfired in every sense of the word.

I always really enjoy the auction reward session. It is always a lot of fun to watch and there is still a lot of strategy that comes to play. You can tell the survivors really enjoy it, and the whole cookie scenario was just not hilarious, but ridiculous and unnecessary at the same time. Regardless of what point Sugar was trying to make, she should have taken the cookie! It's food that you aren't just going to get. Randy was being sarcastic with his motive, but who really cares? Although Randy would have probably still followed through of his plan of just being plain mean, Sugar really added a lot of fuel to the fire that didn't need to be there. But really, it couldn't have gone down more perfectly if you are a fan of Survivor at all.

I thought the immunity challenge was very interesting in setting up those blocks in the domino position. That had to be so challenging to line all of those up correctly but doing it in a fast manner. It kind of lost the drama because Randy wasn't in it, but it was still a good one. I was rooting for Corinne.

Then craziness ensued both back at camp and then tribal council. I still can't grasp why Bob made the move he did. I don't blame him at all with trying to make friends on the other side, but I don't know if Sugar is the one to do so. She hasn't really proven to be loyal to anybody, but I know Bob had to get in somehow, but I really didn't see the need to blindside and hurt a person in your alliance... in other words, a "friend" who sits on the jury. Now, he voted for Susie with Corinne and Randy, and according to the teaser, it seems like he is going to pass it off as an idol that Marcus gave him. I might be wrong there though. He said that he really didn't see how the idol was going to help him, but I really think it could have. It was that convincing! We'll see how his thinking pays off and it could prove to be a MAJOR move in the game, but I'm still baffled by it. Not so much turning against an ally, but really embarrassing him in the process. Just call it a hunch, but I think Randy would be one to hold grudges.

This tribal council had to go down as one of the most hilarious ones, by far. Randy had it coming, no doubt, but when Crystal yelled at the camera, I lost it (my parents and whitney can back this one up). That was soooo funny and I almost think that only Crystal could have pulled that off.

I know I'm forgetting some major things, but it's late and I need to call it a night. Either Corinne goes down in the next episode, or there will be a major shake up due to Bob's leading. If him and Corinne are smart, they could coax Sugar and Matty to come to their side. Sugar is 5th on the totem pole, if not Matty as well. But let's see if they are smart enough to make some moves on their own.

Did you enjoy the episode as much as me? Are you going to miss Randy? Can you fathom Bob's move?

Have a great Turkey day and go Cowboys and Sooners!

Survivor Gabon: Week 8

The tribes have merged which to me is always the official, "Game on!" Fang was of course shocked to see Marcus gone, which they should have been and it was quite funny to see Matty try to repress a smile. I know I keep saying this, but I've really liked the challenges this year. That 3-course slingshot golf course was pretty dang impressive. How long did that take to make and how much money did they spend on it? Well, it was well worth it to see Randy and Matty go nuts. Something tells me that feud isn't quite over yet, if Randy doesn't get voted out of the next tribal council. The reward was the thing we always come to except from Survivor except nobody got drunk this time. Bob's fake immunity idol actually looked really convincing and I think he could really fake out a lot of people with that thing. I kinda predict a big move because of that thing.

Which then led to the individual immunity challenge where Sugar and Susie were the front runners! They haven't shown it much, but it does seem like Susie is a incredible hard worker at camp. I'm glad that the spotlight shone on the fact that women can indeed start a fire without men and it was funny to see Matty and Randy cringe at that fact. This then led to the always fun "who is going to go" scramble. It's so funny to see people pretend that they aren't leaving the base camp to strategize, but what else are they doing? You know which people were voting for who, but once again it came to Sugar who has somehow managed to still not make an alliance, but will probably be in the top four due to the immunity idol. Did everybody forget that she had it? Are they even going to try to snuff it out?

So far, the way they are building the show this season, all signs are pointing to Kenny to win it. I will admit he is making some strong moves and obviously he is the leader of his alliance (is it funny to anyone else that the former Olympic champion and a videogamer are such strong friends? Only in Survivor...) The thing with Kenny is that I don't hate him nor love him. He's made the right moves at the right time, but I don't think he will be put up there in the all time greatest strategic Survivor players. Too many of his moves come out of malicious intent. Do you guys feel the same way?

So Charlie was blindsided, which was kinda sad because I liked Charlie. He brought a lot of niceness to a game that is filled with ill intent. I personally would have gone after the other three because they have been bigger threats to win challenges and I think Corinne and Randy strategize just as much as Charlie did. At least Marcus and him are buddies though!

So, who do you think has the best chance of winning right now? Will Bob, Corinne and Randy be able to survive against the other 5, and most importantly, do you think the other 5 will stick together? What do you think of Kenny?

Call me if you want to go sling-shot golfing anytime soon!

Survivor Gabon: Week 7

This is usually the episode where things get interesting for the whole game, but will it? I thought this was a great episode, but I'm a little afraid that it will the best one. Yes, it was a shock that Marcus was gone, and it provided GREAT drama, but now do we live in a world where the last contestants are going to be Kenny, Crystal, Matty, Sugar and Susie? Really? I don't blame the producers for mixing things up at all. It was needed, if not, it would have been a couple of episodes where Kota picked off the remanding players of Fong (is it Fang? Corrinne just confused me) until they got to a point where they would have to self destruct. So, will this unlikely 5 actually stick together...probably not. I don't see Sugar or Matty really staying true to Kenny & Crystal. And after this episode who knows what Susie will do, after all, she is gunning to be in that "top 3." Now as I type this, it may turn out to be interesting, but this is a game where very strong players have gotten voted out early and I just can't get excited about Kenny, Susie and Sugar duking it out in the end. I think it would be really interesting to see the tribes still stay divided. I don't think that will happen, but it would be interesting to see the jury getting to see different sides of tribal council.

Ok, let's go to the so called merge. I bet the producers were just itching to see what happened with that hidden immunity idol and they ended up throwing it away! I bet they really didn't plan on them doing it. It was a good move by Marcus, so I thought at the time... ha ha. I wonder if he will think about that one. I thought it was brilliant for Charlie to throw it out to everybody, and somebody had grabbed it, would it really "kick them out of Eden." Well, not really...you would be safe for at least one tribal council and from my dedicated watching to this show, I feel like memories are fleeting. This is a game where people seemed to forget that Marcus & G.C. raced for the individual immunity at the very beginning. Marcus & Randy pulled a fast one, and I can't believe Kenny or Matty didn't grab that thing.

The Survivor I loved came back in full force when the tribes returned to camp. I guess I gave Sugar way too much credit. She was duped by Kenny. The way things are going, Kenny might win this thing and I really can't see the "brilliance." Are you with me on this one? He's made some good moves, but they have seemed more out of desperation than strategy. Also, that really was crazy about the tie-in to Crystal and Marcus. I wonder if the producers knew about this one. Regardless, you knew it was going to play out in a big way.

I loved the idea of an individual immunity challenge for two different tribes. It couldn't have been scripted better to see Matty and Bob go head-to-head. What was with Matty's laughter? He might actually be going crazy.

Which then evolved into a HUGE power play by Crystal. She was smart not to let the personal side get into the game side. She jumped on Susie's inability to garner any position with somebody, and I was really surprised when Susie voted Marcus. I thought she would still revert into her comfort zone. Randy, Bob, Corrinne and Charlie will be mad as heck, but what will they really be able to do? I bet they really regret voted Dan out.

I liked Marcus a lot. A very good player left the game early. Some reviews hinted at him annoying people with wanting to take the lead too much, but I thought he did it gracefully. He responded to Susie as well as he could (even though he still had to lie) and he responded to Kenny's attack at tribal council with class. He just underestimated the loyalty Crystal had to Kenny and her desire to win the game, and he was just the product of bad Survivor luck, kinda like Jaquie. If this switch up hadn't happened, I would've swore that he was going to win the game, but I wonder how many Survivor contestants in the past think the same thing.

Regardless, there will be a new name on the Survivor trophy! Hopefully Kelly won't have too hard of a time giving it up :)

So, what do you think about the switch up? A good move for this season or a bad one? Who do you think will win now? Do you think Kenny, Crystal, Matty, Sugar and Susie will be smart enough to form an alliance?

Hoping for the next episodes to be as good as this one...

Survivor Gabon: Week 6

Well, I must be loosing my touch. Once again, I'm out of the game early. Early as in before the merge! I guess writing these updates aren't helping my luck too much.

I think that this is officially the worst Survivor season that I have watched so far. Whitney and I were talking a bit about it and we just don't have any connections to the players. There just isn't anybody I can really get behind. Is it that I just have been plagued by the Survivor cliches? I sure hope not... I mean, there really isn't a James or a Yao Man from this season. I guess Bob would be one, but he's really not given much screen time. By the way, Bob looks like a cartoon turned into a human person. And what was up with his little squeals of delight? Now, if you know me at all you know that I can't criticize somebody tearing up, but that was just weird, ha ha.

I've said it many time so far this season, it just stinks to see a team lose and lose and lose and lose and lose. This season has actually had some great challenges, but they fall by the wayside when one team is so weak. The reward challenge was a great set up, but was over just as quick as it started. I wonder if Crystal will ever get a second breath of fresh air. Her tribe chose Sugar over her to participate in that challenge... I like Crystal a lot, but she is a candid proof of how much this game can wear on somebody physically and mentally. She looked as if she could really control things, but all this loosing is really getting to her.

By the way, did Randy not get any letters from the reward challenge? Do people in real life dislike him as much I do? Ha ha. Randy has really proved to be a strong competitor in this game. I don't think he is nearly as nasty as his testimonials. I'm not saying that the sarcasm isn't there, but I think it's a lot of show. For him to ease into that alliance over Bob shows that he must have some redeeming qualities. I wonder if he'll stick with those 4 because if it doesn't benefit him, I could easily see him turning things upside down.

It was a good idea to do a double elimination and the log roll was a great competition to have. It was entertaining to see everybody participate and of course there were some surprises of who advanced. Kudos to Marcus for giving the necklace to Sugar. Very strategic without coming across as mean-spirited. He's a bright guy... you just wonder when that target will form on his back.

The good thing about this challenge is that it finally made Kota scramble, but the bad thing is that it may have taken two of the more entertaining players out of the game. I didn't hate Ace nor really, really like him, but he was pretty entertaining. I was just interested to see if he would do anything in the merge. Yes, Dan was a bit annoying, but how exciting would've Kota been without him? You could tell he was a really nice guy, but just wore the game a little too much on his sleeve. I think it was very smart for the tribe to split their votes. Now they know for sure that Sugar must have the necklace and if Dan had played it... great, Susie's gone! They lost somebody who could have helped in challenges, but honestly, how many were they going to lose against Fang, especially with Ace gone now.

I'm a little confused by Sugar's move to blind-side Ace. On one hand, she really didn't need Ace. All he constantly did was ask for her immunity necklace and she had to know that Matty wasn't necessarily really keen on her. How many scenes were there of those two strategizing? Not many... But on the other hand, Ace really was the only person she was connected to. I think she knew what she was doing and although Kenny's lies planted the seed, I don't think she believed him and decided to do it on her own. I'm not sure what she is going to do now. Nobody on Kota likes her and Kenny and Crystal will just like her for some votes, so she either goes far just because everybody knows she has the necklace, or she uses it wisely to form some alliance when the merge happens.

Any thoughts? Good move by Sugar? Does Randy have a chance to win this game? Will a merge ever happen?

Have a great week and be careful not to spill your rice!