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Last week on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains," we all had the opportunity to witness what was one of the more chaotic merge episodes in show history. JT was played like a fiddle by Russell, and in not listening to Sandra and / or Rupert he became the third member of the jury.
Russell's anger goes absolutely nowhere
This time, we knew the moment the Yin Yang tribe got back to camp that Russell was going to be on the warpath following Parvati finding an idol at the Outback challenge. Parv, of course, didn't see "any harm done" in keeping an idol a secret -- of course, the harm here is that Russ actually starts shaking in his boots and realizing he's not the King.
Rupert, meanwhile, realized he made a mistake in not allowing Sandra to get back into the fold. He made a promise to all of us (in the sincere fashion that only Rupert could) that he was going to try again.
The next day at camp, Russell immediately tried to do his whole "run up in to random women and offer alliances" game. Candice was his target, and she seemed to buy for the most part. However, I don't count of this as a given yet. Even if she is a bit panicky, Candice is a smart player.
Snoring through shuffleboard
The reward challenge this week really makes me wonder what they mean by "All-Star" challenges. The gang played shuffleboard! Shuffleboard! This challenge was only interested in Tocantins because Sierra was fighting for her life.
The winning team was Colby, Danielle, and Amanda -- which is only funny because of how excited Colby was to actually be the reason his team won. (It's been, say, 18 seasons since we've seen that.) The prize? Getting to watch "Treasure Island" and getting a good sleep in a bead. Sounds like a good advantage for immunity.
The idol games return (sigh)
Seeing the museum for Robert Louis Stevenson was actually pretty cool, even though Amanda was literally spending every second of her time looking around the room for a hidden immunity idol. Could it be in the popcorn? Okay, I actually meant that as a joke -- but Danielle found it. Then (like a pair of ten-year olds arguing over a picture of Justin Bieber), Amanda tried to snatch it from her. Colby then ended up doing the dumbest thing in human history, dumber even than JT giving Russell an idol. He told Amanda that it was Danielle's! Don't you realize you are in trouble in this game? This scene itself makes me want to root against him for not fighting for his alliance. Colby, I hope they vote you out next -- okay, I hope they vote you out after Danielle since she has no entertainment value at all.
Danielle shared the clue with all of her friends, and then Russell snuck up and grabbed it without her seeing. What did they expect? This was a dumb move on her part, expecting that Russ would be happy to go along with her plan after she and Parvati hid the clue from her last time.
Russell decided not to show his new prize with them, and instead went and shook it in front of Candice as some sort of proof that she could trust them. Really, all Russell seems to be actually doing is handing herself fourth place. She's the new Shambo, with the exception that Shambo actually finished sixth. Either way, Russell is just trying to get himself an "ally" and a jury vote.
Sandra makes her move
Did you really think that Sandra was going to sit around quietly? She quickly made her intentions clear to Colby that her intentions were to flip over to the Heroes. Colby once again demonstrated his strategic might by proclaiming that Danielle has the idol. (You have to know that she probably would share it with the others, or at least most people who wouldn't fight for an idol clue would.)
The only stipulation Sandra had in flipping was that Russell was the first to go. Unsurprisingly, Colby (and everyone else) was more than good with that.
The house of cards starts to fall
I actually liked this immunity challenge (the "house of tiles" from Gabon), simply because it is all about strategy and it's always fun watching people get frustrated -- way better than shuffleboard, at least.
Early on, Jerri and Russell seem to be the only two making significant headway. Amanda couldn't get higher than a foot, and no one else was even close as it became a two-person race. Russell ran out of tiles, which gave Jerri an immunity win (not bad, for someone who has been pretty much invisible all episode). It was also her first win in three times on the show -- so good for her. Is anyone else finding Jerri ("I'm swimming in 'yay'") more likable this season?
Back at camp, everything (as expected) started to fall apart. Russell wanted Amanda out of the game, believing she was the female version of Boston Rob. He told this to Candice, who then found out from everyone else that Russell was the target. Quickly joining Colby in the ranks of the ridiculous, the "good" doctor went and spilled the beans on the Heroes' plans.
Knowing that this could lean to trouble, Sandra and Colby quickly changed the plan to get rid of Parvati. The problem was just that Candice wasn't sure what she wanted to do.
This chaos was carried straight into tribal council, where Russell actually said that Sandra was easy to beat in the end. Let's count in total of wins: Sandra has one, Russell has zero. As expected, our "Greatest Villain Ever" played the idol for himself, thinking he was going to be the one in trouble.
Amanda went home, but the real interesting thing in all of this was watching Parvati verbally lash out at Russell for hiding the idol and then "wasting it." Candice ended up flipping, forcing Sandra to keep her spot with the Villains for now.
No longer the longest-lasting 'Survivor'
It's really about time that Amanda left the game before the finals. She's definitely a smart player in some regards, but she's also not the most exciting player since her lies are paper-thin and we've already seen so much of her story already.
Who are you rooting for on "Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains?" Let me know your thoughts with a comment below and stay tuned for more reality TV news.
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Comments
I am rooting for Sandra. She is a smart and strategic player.
I hope Sandra wins. She is the best player left. I mean her alliance was dismantled a long time ago and she is still able to position herself well in this game. Parvati and Russell have had the advantages of numbers but Sandra has had to make up numbers on her side as she goes.
Hopefully Candice is next to go.
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