Survivor H/V: Week 12

Week 12:
Double the Trouble, Double the Surprise!

What a bizarre episode! I would have never guessed that Candice and Danielle would be the next ones to go. I thought for sure Colby and Rupert were goners, but with the way this season has been going, I shouldn’t have been surprised.

Some thoughts...

* As predicted by me, Candice was automatically on the outs with both sides. Totally disgust from the Heroes and total disrespect from the Villains. Her swing vote had more dire consequences than I would have predicted.

* Another correct prediction from me was saying that Rupert and Colby needed to stir up some trouble. Although it wasn’t very effective, Rupert did a nice job of trying to throw Russell underneath the bus. It didn’t faze Russell though. It was like trying to convince a bluebird that in fact, it’s blue.

* I loved the first immunity challenge. Having them stand on those little ledges was a good bonus. Now, I know I have no idea what it’s like to experience hunger like these guys are, but I’m always amazed at how quick people ditch these challenges for food. I thought it was stupid for Russell and Sandra to bail so early because you know that Jeff is just going to bring out bigger and better food. I was really shocked to see Colby leave the challenge so soon. His competition level is at Lebron’s playoff performance (does anybody get that reference?). Also, I bet Candice wishes she would have stayed longer as well.
I’m so glad Sandra found the idol and finally did the smart thing that no Survivor does... She didn’t tell anybody about it!!! Sandra can easily win this game at this point.

* From now on, all Survivors will carry rocks in their pockets. Thank you Rupert.

* I was pretty shocked that Rupert wasn’t gone after the first immunity vote. I guess that the girl Villains (does Jerri deserve credit for this move?) just didn’t feel good about what Candice might do in the game. Maybe they saw that Russell was trying to suck her in. They probably should’ve been more on the same page on this vote, but maybe in the Villains eyes they were still ousting a Hero.

* I think Candice could’ve totally been in a position to win this game. She has the potential of being a great Survivor, but she lets paranoia get in the way of strategy. She had a good ally in Cirie and she let that go, and then she had a good alliance with the Heroes and let that go. Now, I don’t blame her at all for swinging to the other side, she just did it at the wrong time. She is physical enough and smart enough to win this game, but obviously not in an All-star edition.

* So, Russell comes back to camp with the mindset to gain back control, and boy does he ever. And somehow Colby and Rupert are still alive. How ironic was it that all the girls were cheering on Russell to win immunity and that it turned out to be their worst nightmare.

* Okay... So now about the biggest thing about this episode: Russell turns on his alliance. This once again to me is a brilliant but dumb move. Can you ever remember a Survivor moment where the obvious strongest alliance turns on each other so soon? The girls were obviously gaining control over Russell and everybody saw it coming. It’s as if lightning struck him when Candice was voted out and he said to himself, "No more!"

* Why this was a smart move: He could make this move because he had immunity. So if there was any better time to do this, this was it. He obviously has “real” control in the game now and he took out a person who could easily had won the million dollars.

* Why this was a dumb move: At this point he will get no votes from the jury. It may be a repeat of last year’s finale. Russell may still get to the end, and in my opinion is totally justified in winning, but if Sandra or Parvati are there at the end, he has no shot. His moves are so mean-spirited and are in such a bully-like manner that it will cloud the jury’s opinion of his strategy.

* I’m so glad Parvati stood up to Russell. Parvati has never been my favorite, but she gained a lot of respect from me for not letting Russell throw his male ego on top of her.

* One of my favorite moments of the season was this exchange; Russell to Rupert: "We're voting off Danielle." Rupert, with no hesitation, "Okay!" What a god-send for Rupert and Colby.

* I felt really bad for Danielle. She has played a really solid game this season and literally out of nowhere, she was stabbed in the back. She made a solid alliance, was in the background at the beginning of the game, and then she knew when to get aggressive. That would usually result in a million dollars, but she did allign herself with the most evil troll to ever walk this earth. She talked WAY too much at tribal council. I don’t fault her for crying, but she was falling more and more into Russell’s verbal trap. If I were Parvati, I would’ve hit her. I’m not sure what made Jerri change her vote, but she did, and now it’s once again a completely different game.

If I saw the commercial correctly through the fast-forward of the DVR, I think we only have two more episodes left! Thursday and then the finale on Sunday.

So, I think the overwhelming questions are... How shocked were you to see Candice and Danielle go? Does Russell have any chance of winning? Who is your favorite to win right now?