I think she deserved it, to tell you the truth.

I mean, she was hung out to dry so many times, and she just kept coming back.  Protecting herself.  Playing the great social game.  Standing up to Russell.

She didn’t have strong alliances.  She didn’t have tons of immunity idols.  Everyone counted her out.

In other words, she was the underdog.

And it paid off.

I think there is something to that.  Russell spent a lot of time bagging on her and wringing sour grapes (as is his custom), but he was dead wrong about Sandra and her ability to win.

And he still doesn’t understand why she won.

Russell, you are an egomaniac.  You are.  Admit it.  Maybe your five supporters in the front row can watch you play the game and not roll their eyes or occasionally gag, but most people can’t.  I know, I know…America gave you $100,000…but consider, that’s a portion of America that takes the time to actually send in text messages to vote for things like this.  So ok.  13 year-olds awarded you $100k.  But when your children, upon whom you swore and then broke the promise?  Well, we’ll see how that goes down the line.

Anyway, Russell underestimates the social game.  The quiet game.  Sandra’s game.

Whether or not you respect what she did, you have to respect the jury.  Russell was blanked and Sandra won a convincing victory.  Say what you want.

But she’s the winner.

This season was filled with all kinds of twists and turns.  From J.T.’s dumbest move ever to Sandra’s biggest win ever (two times?) we saw it all.

And next season, in Nicaragua, I hope we see more.

There will be heroes and villains in every season, and sometimes the line is blurred.  But then again, we’ll always have the Russells of the world who make the roles as clear as day.

And chances are, they’ll get blanked by the jury as well.

See you next season on the Survivor blog!

-josh

We had such high hopes.

Indeed, we did.

We hoped you would listen to Sandra, your only Villain ally, and try to vote out Russell.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you played Russell’s hand, as you always do, and made a mess of things.  I mean, we know Colby is essentially a non-entity in this game, but we thought maybe you would take the lead for the remaining ragtag Heroes and work some magic, like you did with your lump-of-coal immunity idol.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you made another deposit in Hantz’s bank of evil, and you will never draw interest.  You will never see that money again.

Rupert, let me say something to you:  When you see that you were right about Russell initially, don’t beat yourself up too badly.  Because hey, in the end, at least you didn’t give him an immunity idol.

Did you hear me, J.T.?

-josh

Russell, Russell, Russell.

One almost hates to give him more blog space, but it’s just so dang hard not to!  Honestly…

Last night, he worked his sinister magic again – somehow managing to pull the strings of insanity and create havoc, engineering the eliminations of Candice (whose time had probably come anyway) and Danielle (sort of a shock).

But he did it in an unusual way, especially when it came to Danielle.  Quite simply, he bullied.  He questioned her integrity and loyalty, and broke her down so that it cast a light of doubt upon her in the tribe, and got her talking at Tribal where she pretty much sealed her fate by revealing her closeness with Parvati.

Done.

Now, I didn’t much care for Danielle on the show, but I certainly sympathize with her.  Russell said things about her that weren’t true, and then as she tried to defend herself, he stuck to it.  Eventually she cried out of frustration.

I think we all know that feeling.

We get pushed against a wall of someone else’s mental creation.  And they just keep banging our heads and banging our heads until we succumb, either with violence or silence.

Usually, this takes place in middle school where the bully picks on the “weaker” kids – taunting and name calling until they break the weaker kid down.  Then, when the weaker kid shows honest emotion and tries to reason, it just gets worse and worse.  The bully shouts “poopy pants!” (in elementary school) or “nerd!” (in the ’80s) or “loser!” or any other inane variation of verbal lunacy that bears no resemblance to reality, but then again, in bullying, reality does not matter.  It’s only a way of breaking someone down.

Now throw Russell and a mil into the mix and that’s sorta what it looked like last night.

And Survivor can do that.  It can bring out that middle school mentality in a way almost nothing else can.

It brings trouble to probably ordinarily (possibly) well-adjusted souls.

This season has a feeling of inevitability to it.  I don’t like to make predictions on winners, except with my viewing partner, but I can predict this:  More trouble ahead.

And more poopy pants on the playground

-josh

Cement an alliance with a Villain.  Change the game!

But no…

But as we saw this week, the Villain alliance is anything but stable.  Folks that were so intent on taking each other to the end, may be ending their run.

This is yet another fascinating thing about Survivor.  If people acknowledge each others’ contributions and stay loyal, they can go a long way.  But instead, they get scared.  They crack.  They misread.  They misrepresent.

They go home.

Of course, there’s a million at stake, but still…

But as I watched it this week, I was just so puzzled by Candice’s move.  I’m not saying she’s numero uno at the Hero camp, but if you have a chance to go at least four or five more votes, why wouldn’t you?

I know I shouldn’t watch Survivor searching for loyalty.

I know.

But still, each week, you think it might be just a bit different.  You think maybe a bond will cement or a plan will go as…well…planned.

But it doesn’t.

But maybe that’s why we’re fascinated.

Maybe that’s why we watch.

-josh

And when asked about it, Russell Hantz said, “It means good and evil.”

Argh!

I mean, there might be people out there with that perception, but if we look at the gentle Taoist philosophy, it really isn’t good vs. evil.  It’s about balance…complementary opposites, such as heat/cold, male/female.  Things that are necessary complements to each other.

Now, it is certainly a clever name, I’ll grant them that…for there does seem to be a lot of good and evil in the game of Survivor, but I just cringed when they picked it!

But I must say, things are getting exciting there on the ol’ island.  Especially when Russell swore on his children that he “was with” the Heroes.

Really?

You just said that on national television?

Eh, who am I kidding.  It’s Russell.  He’d do almost anything on national television to win…or, to prove he’s the best.

Sad.

But anyway, Parvati’s move was crazy, and you knew as she was doing it that she was going to eventually have to answer to Russell (for hiding an idol).  I wouldn’t count the heroes out just yet.

Not by a longshot.

When you watch this coming week, enjoy!  It’s gonna be quite a finish.

Just don’t get caught up in the Yin/Yang that isn’t really there.

-josh

And, quite possibly, it was.

Indeed, JT engineered a “brilliant” plan to help Russell escape the non-existent female alliance on the Villain’s tribe.  What was the plan?  Handing an immunity idol over to him after a challenge.

Argh.

Now, sure, it was easy for us usual fans to cringe.  We know the story on each tribe.  We know Russell’s running the show.  We know there’s not danger for him.  But for the Heroes?  Well, perception told a different story.  With Coach’s recent departure, it sure looks like the women have an alliance.

Who can blame JT for perceiving differently?

Who?  Who could blame him?

The answer?

ALL OF US!  YES!

As we discussed last week, anyone who’s watched the show knows that Russell is somehow always in control.  In other words, your perception of Russell is not Russell.  If you think he’s down, he wants you to think that.  If you perceive that he’s not in control, it’s usually because that’s how he’s structured it.

JT’s…brain infraction…isn’t crazy because he handed an idol over.  That was a good idea.  Brilliant even.

What makes it crazy is that he handed it to Russell Hantz.

Ideas in and of themselves aren’t good or bad.  It’s the intention behind them…or maybe the perception that drives them…that makes all the difference.

Good idea, Heroes.  Bad perception.

It’s gonna cost ya.

-josh

I mean, except for Russell.

You have chance after chance to dump Hantz, and you don’t.  And then the teaser for next week shows JT possibly hatching a plan to offer his idol to Russell on the other side (probably because of the suspected women’s alliance on the Villain’s side which doesn’t exist).

Hello?  Hello, Villans?  Heroes?  Do any of you watch the show when you’re not on it?

This season is a little devastating because it shows the power of the Russells of the world.  Bullies.  Egomaniacs.  Figures who revel in being awful to others, all the while justifying it by making reference to their awfulness-as-greatness.  Now, I don’t know his persona outside the game.  Perhaps he’s a model father, husband, and boss.  Perhaps he has this strategy worked out with his loved ones ahead of time so that when they actually see him in action, they don’t hide their heads in utter shame at the fact that they are related to an egomaniacal horror show.

Fine.

But what about the other Survivors?  They don’t need to know his persona outside of the islands.  They know it.  He is what most of them (hopefully) aspire not to be with others…even in a game.  And yet, vote after vote, there he is.  I even found myself rooting for the mighty Dragon Slayer to stay around this season (What?  Really?), if only to lead a charge in the opposite direction.

But no.

Next week should be interesting.  Maybe the Survivors saw the show about the Buddha the other night on PBS, about the “Awakened One.”  Maybe they’ll wake up at some point to the truth and do what they have to do.

But probably not.

Of course, if they were the Buddha, they probably wouldn’t be on the show, but hey, there’s always room for a mixed metaphor now and then.

-josh

They had Russell right where they wanted him.

And yet he remains.

Ah, the Dragonslayer…slaying everyone’s chances at victory.

Survivor is such an amazing sport.  It’s strange sometimes.  The person who plays the most backhanded game…is the biggest threat…is the one that will prevent you from taking the prize at seemingly any cost…and he stays!

You gotta love it.

But aren’t we so much like that?  Isn’t that what we are attracted to?  “Well,” we might say, “I’ll either stick with the bully or get bullied myself.”

And so begins the success of survivor.  Russell is a bully on the playground.  He’s the biggest threat and the biggest annoyance, yet people side with him because they fear him.  And that fuels him and his narcissism.  And vote after vote after vote he remains.

If you were one of the bullied years ago, this season of Survivor is killing you.

If you were a bully all those years ago, maybe you’re rooting for Russell.

And if you’re the Dragonslayer?  Well, then I’m not sure there’s much hope for figuring you out…good luck anyway.

I can’t wait until next week to see just how far the folks on that ‘Villains’ beach will let this go.  But one thing’s for sure…you will see Russell dig a deeper hole, and then a bunch of hands will reach in to save him.

-josh

Both tribes to tribal council.  Both tribes facing Jeff’s one-man firing squad.  Both tribes sending someone packing.

This one actually looked painful.  Amanda’s face told the whole story for the Heroes.  Her characteristic frown was right on cue to let America know that James was history.  One has to feel bad for a guy that wants this so badly, but is sidelined from an injury.  That has to be the worst way to leave the game.

And to top it off, the Heroes had to watch the Villains eat hot dogs, soda, and “fixins” while they discussed their tribal issues.

Ugh.

And as for the Villains?  Well, let us just say that Tyson, in the best tradition of The Princess Bride, “fell victim to one of the classic blunders.  The first is,” never believe a word that Russell says to you on a Tribal Council day (or, any day come to think of it).  The second is, well…I guess it’s don’t listen to Russell…let me check…hmmm…yup…that’s the second one, too.

And so, Tyson is home watching American Idol while the others go back to camp and try to figure out how such a bizarre turn of events may have made Parvati or Russell another million bucks.

This is a game of strategy, cold and calculating.  It’s a game of apple-biting, as James would say (and he did a few seasons ago).  The Villains had the perfect plan to eliminate Parvati or Russell, but Tyson had to bite the apple and mess it up, thus giving Russell and Parvati an in to save their skins.

I guess it’s just a grand metaphor, eh?  They often say of life that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.  Right now, I think the mice are the only satisfied customers on either the Villain or Hero beaches.

This season is getting uncomfortable.

The groups are getting uncomfortable.

And that means, Survivor is getting  into full swing.

-josh

That’s a good word to describe tonight’s Survivor episode.

In a particularly insane reward challenge, bodies were a-flyin’.  Coach was put down hard and Jerri’s face took a flying tumble at Rupert’s hands.  And, in the greatest shock of all, James, the rock and picture of fitness, tweaked his knee.

Ouch.

Couldn’t walk.

But then, he walked right back into camp.

At tribal, James stayed around.  The tribe voted out Tom instead, keeping James and his knee brace.

Ouch.

Interesting choice.

But what is behind it?  Pity?  Votes?  Gamesmanship?  Probably all three.  But then again, that’s what Survivor is all about.  When the Heroes tribe returned to camp after losing their challenge, the scheming started, and the famous Survivor watercolors started to run.  J.T. let the way, double and triple-timing his way to a Tom vote.

Ouch.

And then, Coach placed his trust in Russell.

Yikes.  (Don’t worry…that one will eventually be an ouch).

And isn’t it all about trust?  The reason Heroes vs. Villains exists in the first place is because of trust issues…and trust leads to the biggest ouchies.  Generally, I believe America considers the Villains those who have schemed and breached, and the Heroes those who have been true and valiant.

Ah, how wrong they are.  And how it smarts.

Folks, human nature is human nature.  It isn’t that we are all liars and schemers, but here’s the thing…there’s A MILLION DOLLARS AT STAKE.  Did you hear that?  A million.

Now, some have played the game quite honorably, and some (Coach?) have said one thing and done another (he’d argue with me on that, of course, but again, I refer you to the episode where he said he would go down defending Randy, right before he voted Randy off…although in fairness, 90% of ‘em have said one thing and done another at one point.  He’s not alone).

But at the end of the day, people generally get caught in group-think and catch Lord of the Flies syndrome.  Some are in.  Some are out.  Some are safe.  Some are blindsided.

They all get the boo-boo, unless they’re the last one standing.

Once again, Survivor doesn’t disappoint.  It just keeps on showing us life, whether we identify with it or not.

Ouch.

-josh