I'm surprised that Terry has so many votes on CBS.com, and I'm especially surprised that he has more than Cirie. The only way it makes sense is that people see him as an underdog, despite his complete domination of the challenges (really, at this point it seems like it's all a question of who Terry takes to the final two with him). I just hate the thought of seeing his smug face for so many more weeks. Besides, he has nothing on Chris from Vanuatu. Now that was an underdog worthy of cheering for (I'm still pissed he won though).
Oh well, maybe the Car Curse will take down another one.
Anyway, loved the random mention of Phil. A good PhilMention is always appreciated.
And I actually liked Courtney, but I was glad to see her go because she was aligning with Terry, and it's always great to see an actual decent plan come together on Survivor.

Great recap (as always) B-Side! As soon as I saw Danielle's hairy pits, my wife and I turned to each other and said (at the same time) that we couldn't wait to see them on TVGasm.

However, there were 2 side-by-side pictures I thought you might put up:
1) Danielle's Pits alongside Barry's Sweater (from Amazng Race)
2) Courtney in tribal alongside Sideshow Bob (Spitting image!)

Keep up the great work...

Oh yeah- this was the episode that all true Survivor fans have been waiting for all season! WTG Cirie for not letting the two guys DICK-tate what's going to happen in the game!Plus she caught a fish too! I was so proud of her (in a not-knowing her sort of way). I really hope she wins the whole thing now.

Now they just have to find a way to get rid of Terry. They didn't show anyone talking about the fact that he won a sweet car when he got back to camp either, and you know how that fuels the TC fires of revenge/jealousy. Next week is their best chance if he loses immunity, b/c they still have Shane as a sacrifice when he uses the idol if they play it right. I don't think that Terry is even considering Cirie as a target to vote out.

btw- I wondered if they were not allowed to wrap the ropes around their hands in the immunity challenge. I would have done that to get a better grip.

Can we please get a seperated at birth of Courtney and Sideshow Bob? That's all I could think during Tribal COuncil, samlub.

My Terry hate has decreased but not disappeared. I'm impressed by him gutting out these challenges. Hello yoga teacher! These challenges are impossible for you to lose. Oh that's right, you have wretched form and are the second biggest poser on the show. Incessant fauxhawk anyone?

Cerie is so cool. I hope she goes all the way.

What's with all the hating on Terry? This is SURVIVOR and he's proven to be the best. 5 challenges in a row and you still hate him? He's made a mess of the Casayans and as long as the challenges involve grit and determination he'll win. Cirie? Pshaw! Likable lady but no survivor. My best laugh last night was watching Aras and Shane push her fat ass over the obstacles. She exploited the weakness of the weakest, Danielle, by playing on her fears and she did that well. That's one of three: outwit. She hasn't outplayed anyone and she has only outlasted the others because Casaya knew they could blow her out in the end.

You want entertainment? Root that Terry overcomes the greatest odds ever and outplays, outlasts and in the end outwits the rest. I can't see anyone being mean-spirited enough to choose whoever Terry goes to final two with. Ease up, B-Side, this is truly the struggle of the underdog against the forces of many. Sheer determination continues to win. Go, Navy!

Here's my problem with Terry. I liked him at first...intelligent, hard working, loyal, and pretty sexy. Then after the merge he became this arrogant schemer. Arrogance with nothing to back it up is the sign of a fool. Terry has had numerous chances, including the chance of all chances, to take out Aras and take control of the game.

That was Terry's downfall. He may make it into the final 3 or 2, but it won't be because of his brain. He had the chance to go in front of the jury with his peers, not his enemies, and he BLEW IT. He'll never win. Worst Survivor schemer EVER.

This really was a great episode. I always knew that Cirie was very sharp at observing what was going on around her and that she was extremely strategic. She was just waiting for the right moment to make her move and his was the time. It looks like both Terry and Shane are going to have to reassess just how much power they really do have. Talk about getting blindsided. Courtney must still be reeling from that one. I'm glad she's gone, she really bugged me. What a pain in the ass.

I guess Terry won't be winning the show now that he's won the car. If I were him I would have thrown that competition.

Great episode ! I was on the edge of my seat before tribal council. Finally someone actually playing the game.

I think Shane's "acting" is so so so obvious and is probably an attempt to try and propel himself post-Survivor into some Johnny Fairplay-esque reality gigs.

courtney = trustafarian.

you know the type--daddy's little girl ('we'll go out sailing on the bay when you get home, hon!) goes to prep school, discovers phish and pot and MDMA, horrifies her mother by growing dreads, giving up bathing, and refusing to be a debutante, runs off to burning man and then spends a year or two pretending to be homeless before deciding to turn fifteen years worth of expensive gymnastics and ballet lessons into a career as a 'fire dancer,' living life 'outside the system, man'--with a little monthly subsidy courtesy of daddy, who still loves her even though she stinks up the house at holidays and sneaks into his study to roll blunts with his contraband monte cristos.

ah, i still felt sorry for courtney, who really got bamboozled and probably took it personally given how much shit she had to take last week.

this episode should have demonstrated once and for all that cirie is hardly a passive, under-the-radar 'floater.' at first i thought she should have stuck to the plan to boot aras just to get rid of the best unprotected player when she had the chance to do it. but turning the tables on courtney was genius: she effectively ended terry's chances of winning, isolated shane, and earned herself favors from aras and danielle. GO CIRIE!!

as for terry's popularity: sorry, y'all. i know he's arrogant, and his strategic ineptitude is exasperating, but i LOVE watching him dominate casaya. the dude is 46 years old! he's a bad-ass, plain and simple.

but i'd love to see captain american go down to cirie and her pontoons in the finals.

I LOVE Cirie! I can't believe she pulled that off. I was waiting for another lame, predictible vote but she actually pulled it off. Now to see what the repercussions are... Shane is going to be even more insane. The look on he and Terry's faces were hilarious. They couldn't believe that they were not running the game. It is about time that the women realize that they could take over.

This was the best episode of Survivor in several years. Someone finally looked ahead and didn't just blindly follow. YEAH!!

I really liked Terry at first and thought of him as this year's Tom. But he just isn't as likeable. He's arrogant and doesn't have a clue how to scheme.

I think Shane's the next one with a target - everyone will want the crazy guy in the final 2 if Courtney isn't available. I'm torn, though. I can't decide which would be more fun - Shane getting to question the final 2 or Shane having to answer the questions as one of the final 2. Both are appealing! A Courtney/Shane final 2 would have been sweet for the questioning - but I really don't want either to be the winner.

Love Cirie - but not sure she really has a chance, either. Unfortunately for her she's not going to win the endurance challenge to make it into the final 2 on her own and she hasn't really burned any bridges yet, so who would take her - she's too likeable.

btw - kudos to b-side for the lightning fast recap!!

also noticed no mention of Terry winning the car. Were the girls covering for him since they were supposed to be voting together???

I love the juxtaposition of brains (Cirie) and brawn (Terry)...
She can't win a physical challenge and he can't strategize.

Did you notice that Cirie's squeals for fear and delight were exactly the same?! Bummer for her husband.

hb

Danielle is an idiot. Why would she not enter the alliance with courtney and terry and guarantee herself top 3 with at least a chance of getting top 2 and then winning? Now she's looking at 5th place. Dumb.

Cirie with the fish was great. I must admit I am the same way...but she's got one up on me because I refuse to bait the hook let alone touch the fish...LOL!!

I think Aras, Danielle and Cirie in final three. Then Aras and Danielle final two and Danielle winning. Even though Cirie rocks but I agree with auntiboo - she can't win a physical challenge and she is too likeable in final two.

Someone probably already pointed this out, but I'm pretty sure when Shane wrote Hairy Pits name down, he said: You get to eat all you want and I'll never yell at you again.

God bless Cirie. And to think she was almost ousted in episode two.

The nudity ... the mania from lack of cigarettes ... the "swearing on my son" ... the blackberry ... the resemblance to Charles Manson ... the general "Lord Of The Flies" vibe -- Shane's gonna kill someone some day. Maybe not on this island, but soon.

I love Cirie and hope she wins. Someone who hates leaves and falls ass-backwards into catching a fish -- gotta love her. You don't need 1% body fat, or any skills!

I can't believe how much I like Cirie and how great of a player she's turned out to be. In the beginning, she was not only afraid of leaves but she resorted to crying about her family at an early tribal council to avoid being voted out. She was nearly the 2nd or 3rd one out, and everyone assumed she'd be out soon after the tribe switch-up. And now...

I am moist with anticipation for the sweet, sweet meltdown that awaits us from Shane. I get a TVgasm just thinking about it. Explosion. Pout. Then he'll grab a palm frond and a lizard, call them his blankie and teddy, and curl up his rickets-postured body into the fetal position and plot his first homicide in a deadly spree. It'll be glorious.

Has anyone looked closely at Shane's tattoos? Frankly, his body makes me go "ergh" much more so than Danielle's hairy pits. But all his tats are words, aren't they? What is up with that? Are they email addys to use on his Blackberry? Is it like a "Memento" type of thing to remember who and what and where he is? Freaking weird.

About Danielle's pits... FINALLY we see some pit hair on the women! Always bugged me on "Survivor" that the men grow beards but somehow the women manage to have cleanly shaved legs and pits. Can't upset the folks at home! I'm a little disappointed by you, B-Side, that you were "nauseated" by the sight of Danielle's natural pit hair. I thought you were more enlightened than that.

I think if Terry is smart (questionable) he'll throw next week's challenge. He should do this because he has the immunity idol and next week is his last chance to use it...but also because he will single-handedly send Aras home. Everyone else will vote for Terry thinking it is their only opportunity to get rid of him...and then he will use the idol and his single vote will send Aras home

hey srsdal--do you think that the rest of casaya doesnt know that terry has the idol? well, they do. it would make no sense for all of them to vote that way.

shane, acting?

never!

TexasK, I agree- it sounded to me as if Shane said he wouldn't yell at her again. Of course, now he will since she's still there.
subgenre- thank you for pointing that out about the ladies pits. As for you B-Side, so what if women have hair there? Grow up and get over it. Men, you all stay immature forever.
But thanks for the great recap to a great episode. I also agree with Shoe-in, I think Shane's blackberry act is just for effect. Dude wants to stretch out that 15 minutes so he doesn't have to do any more gay porn.

Did anyone else pick up on the fact that Cirie has Aras' back? They were tight on the reward challenge last week and this week she let him in on the Courtney vote. I think they have a deal for final 2.

To all the Hyper Patriots who claim Terry's Captain America performance is all about integrity and good ole fashioned American Family Values: *gag* He is on a frigging GAME SHOW not on the front lines in Iraq. Just ask Dan the Astronaut how much Terry's word means!

I was happy to see Bruce up-and-at-em, but would have liked the change-up of jury dynamics if Nick-from-LaMina had been brought back.

Awesome episode though. THIS kind of scheming is what "Survivor" should always be about!!! Wahoo!!!

I never thought it was possible to love Cirie more.

Now she MUST win.

But I bet she'll be out third. Oh, well.

Sorry ladies, but I must defend B-Side disgust about the armpit hair.

I'm a woman, and it would take me a year to grow that much arm pit hair! How long have they been out there now? A month tops? Ummm...ewww! Ick!

I read somewhere you were looking for some bloggers to do recaps. Try contacting Jack (# 9). This is as good as it gets. Succint and, for my money, right on.

You can keep on hating Terry because of his poor strategy, but the fact is he was spot on this week and Danielle screwed it up by listening to Cirie. You KNOW Danielle will be next in line for the jury. The Casayans may be smart enough to realize that if Terry loses the immunity next week they will be condemning Aras to banishment with no guarantee they can stave off Terry's comeback the following week. Guess what I enjoyed the most was watching Shane's face when he realized his doominance was all but gone. Can't wait to see the shenanigans (yes, shenanigans) next week when Shane gets to rag on Cirie for rebelling. However, for those of you rooting for Cirie, face facts. When it gets down to her having to win any challenge she's down and out.

Once again, why are y'all hating on Terry so much? He has dominated in the face of overwhelming odds, didn't throw the game when he could have and, in general, continues to kick ass. Seems to me his strategy is working. Why is it bad for him to be "Captain America"?

Is Shane gay?
I coulda sworn when he was talking about who he was contacting with his piece of wood.. he said "My partner" then referred to this partner as a him.
Or was he talking about like a business partner?

Anyways... I actually like Terry. Yeah he totally sucks at scheming, but I just love that he keeps winning. Gonna be sad to see him eventually lose and go. Know it's gonna happen, it's just a matter of time before it does.
I also love Cirie!! That scheming last night was SO refreshing to see.
Not just all talk and then when it comes to the vote.. everyone just votes the way everyone else does.
I hated her at first for getting LUmberjack lady voted off, but damnit she proved herself to be totally awesome.
She put a huge target on her back though. You know Aras and Danielle are going to point their fingers right at her when questions start getting asked.

Oh yeah.. and when Cirie was smashing that snail and catching that fish.. OMG I was cracking up b/c that'd probably be the exact way I would act. Specially about the snail. I was laughing so hard yet cheering for her b/c she did catch it... that was a great moment heh.

Tony A. (#5&29): You brought up "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" in reference to Terry. So far he hasn't outwitted anyone, and appears to be completely incapable of it. He also hasn't outlasted four other people yet. The only thing he's doing is outplaying them in the challenges, and that's not really a strategy. It's pure luck he didn't end up on the island with someone has capable as him physically.

How could you question the use of "airplaned"? He was in the Navy, he was a pilot, of course airplaned is a word. And after they airplaned to the island, they Yukoned to the beach where they fooded while Danielle soccer balled around.

After last night I'm now convinced that it's not that Terry is superhuman, but everyone else is terrible. They only lasted 31 minutes on the immunity challange. I'd have lasted 31 seconds, but Surviors of past years would have lasted hours.

For all you Terry haters, who cares if he makes it to the final two, and doesn't win he's already won the game of life. In the military you're not trained to be civil. Being cocky is what helps him survive, but he is exactly the type of person I am proud to support for ever defending our country. I don't want a pussy in the armed forces. I want a million guys like Terry defending me, and you have to respect the fact that he can kick no-military trained ass. You don't have to like it, but like the fact that there are hundreds of kids out in the military just like him keeping us safe at night. Once he makes it to the final two, there probably will be the Terry stipulation, that former military men can't compete in this game anymore.

I had thought Probst said that the idol could be used up THRU the final four. To me that means that Terry would be able to use it at the final four tribal council, if needed. But once there are only 3 people left it can no longer be used. Based on some comments I have read here there seems to be some confusion/differing opinions on this. Anybody know what is right?

terry .... another ally of yours taken out to the back shed. how many in a row is that (counting the Hidden Ally, Bruce)?

cirie .... everyone wants to take you to F3, no one will commit Colbycide and take you to F2. You're the best playa the game has had for a while (Tom was good too) and lovely to boot, but those are the politics.

danielle ... smart enough (with C's help) to see Terry was playing you. Not smart enough to see C was playing you too. Way to switch a #3 spot for a #4 spot. Enough with the anti-hair pit crap - as if any of you have control over how quickly yours grows. She looks more puppishly endearing (no big teeth/boobs) than gross in the photo. best option is to grab shane and jump to terry's side for good.

shane .... no one told you anything. I guess your crazy act (er, acting crazy) is really working. Keep it up and that $100K seat next to the winner is gonna be kept warm for you.

aras ... keep pouting, maybe no one will see you.

courtney ... trustafarian is right. The 'rents outed you. Nice kid if lacking in self-perception (not for wont of trying).

Best episode in recent memory. Cirie and Terry have very different strengths and have both performed impressively in their own way. Cirie always had the capability to scheme, but I agree w/ Wizzard (#7) that she was smart enough to wait until the time was right to make her move and not stick her neck out too early.

I also heard Shanes comment at tribal toward Danielle as "I'll never yell at you again."

Shane may be a little wacko but I have no doubts at this point that he is playing it up so others are either scared to cross him or at a minimum will just not take him as seriously as a threat.

TonyA, I'm also a fan of Jack's posts. Always brilliant character analysis and f-ing hilarious.

I have mixed feelings about Cirie. One the one hand, *loved* the scheming. It's true, we really haven't seen skullduggery of this quality since Boston Rob, and the lucid analysis is pretty much Rob C. quality. I've been missing this sort of thing the last couple seasons, which have substituted feeble 'let me go to F2 and maybe we can still be friends, Ian' mindgames for classic Survivor balance-of-power calculations. I have to respect that, as lousy as she has been in the challenges, Cirie's still in there pitching. On the other hand, she has super-sucked at challenges, and that's part of the game too. In addition, the whole 'Nature's icky!' routine (leafaphobia, making a huge production out of crushing the bait snail, etc.) is a big turn-off. Worst of all was her 'poor me!' agonizing last week when she took Aras and Danielle on the reward trip with her. If she was just trying to cement Aras and Danielle's loyalty, well and good, but all the hand-wringing to Shane seemed genuine, and made me kind of sick. If you're going to win by scheming (and it's her only hope), you've got to own it, at least to yourself. Ultimately, I just find her too lame to root for with any enthusiasm.

As for Terry, yeah, he's pretty smug, but, as Probst pointed out when Danielle was complaining about this at last week's TC, so are those complacent burger-eatin' Casayas. And the guy has won individual immunity four times in a row: bad ass. His scheming improved somewhat this week (a low hurdle to clear, admittedly), though Cirie outmaneuvered him by the simple expedient of being the last one to hard-sell Danielle before TC. The way I see it, next week Shane's going on a rampage against the three who voted out Courtney. If (big if, yeah) Terry's smart, he'll point out to Shane that, since he [Terry] has the idol, Shane's screwed against this new Cirie/Aras/Danielle axis. So he and Shane should really work Danielle's manifold insecurities to make it clear that she's not going to crack that Aras/Cirie nut for final two; if as everyone would expect Aras beats Danielle in the final endurance challenge, he'll definitley take Cirie (I'm not sure I really believe this, but it should be an easy sell for Danielle).

Danielle's in a tough position now. I'm not convinced that getting Courtney out of the game was really in her best interests if, as she correctly feels, she doesn't want to get eliminated at F3. The way things are now, she's likely to be facing either Aras or Terry in that challenge, so she can't like her chances to win the challenge (though I can't say der Yogameister has truly wowed me with his endurance). Does she feel she can beat Shane? Maybe, I give her a fighting chance. Bottom line, with Courtney gone, she really has to be thinking about the winner wanting to be in F2 with her, which reduces her options. If he were smart, Aras would take her over Cirie (assuming he can't sell Cirie to the jurors as a back-stabber) because Cirie seems better liked. I guess, if he really goes loose cannon, Shane might be the best to go up against in F2; hard to say right now. Danielle's best shot may be to team up with Terry and Shane against AraCirie and hope Terry takes her to F2.

I'm kind of having a tough time figuring out who to root for at this point. I like Terry's physical and mental stamina, and there's something compelling about this seat-of-the-pants gameplay, but his scheme-fu is weaaaaak, and I can't believe he hasn't fractured Casaya just by stirring stuff up. Cirie's kind of the opposite: good scheming, but bad everything else, scary fish notwithstanding, and kind of a 'poor me, I'm the underdog' whiner to boot (for the record, she seems like a nice woman). Aras: smarmy, self-satisfied ass, who isn't the boss of me, or, I hope, anyone else, soon. Danielle: do-nothing, easily influenced vacilator, I'll be a bit bummed if she pulls a Jenna/Amber and manages to win F1 against someone who played much harder than her. Shane: entertaining to watch, but I do not want this knucklehead winning a million dollars. It'll just be nice to watch those Casaya jerks finally implode once and for all.

This was my favorite episode of the season. The fish catch was a hoot and the scheming was excellent!!! I hope they conspire over the hidden idol to get rid of Shane, likely the best way for any of Casaya to keep his vote by playing dumb.

I also hope the last challenge involves answering ?'s about the tribemates, I think Cirie might have an edge there, and I hope MB gives her a shot at winning top spot. I'm not really caring who wins though, but I'd rather see Shane do a hostile questioning than be questioned, and I think he could easily be swung to a Terry vote with the right blind-side. (I can always hope)

Funny about the car not being mentioned, either to the competitors, that they'd have a shot, or of the winning . . . .hmmmm. And, no mention of the curse either.

Is it physically impossible for Danielle to close her mouth completely? Her teeth drive me crazy.

Finally got some time to comment on Survivor. I am so happy Cirie stirred stuff up this week, lot of fun. I definitely can't knock her for being grossed out/afraid of the snail and the fish because I would be the same way. Then again I don't sign my ass up for Survivor but whatever. I adore her. Like I said last week, now that she's been hurting some tribemates' feelings, maybe she will be seen as a good companion to F2 but I doubt it will happen unless she wins final immunity on her own. I'd love to see her win the whole thing. I still believe in the GM CAR CURSE, why did Jeffy not talk about it?! Is he rooting for Terry too? GRR!

Thanks B-Side for the awesome recap to this kick-ass episode!

Juddfan (#39), if I'm not mistaken I'm pretty sure that Probst mentioned the curse briefly before the start of the car challenge.

I loved the Cirie scheming this week - perfect for her. She was right about Courtney - everyone seemed to think taking her to the final 2 would be beneficial.

Does everyone know that Terry offered Danielle the hidden idol a few weeks ago? If Courtney was smart, she would have asked Terry to give her the hidden idol in exchange for jumping to his side. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad to see Cirie's scheming work, but Courtney was too quick/eager to jump sides. That's another good reason to get rid of her.

I thought it was fabulous. I think Shane's proclaiming that he was communicating with people OFF OF THE ISLAND on his wooden Blackberry was hysterical.

People like Terry because he backs up his words with actions and with continually winning. At least I like him for that...he's not full of shit when he says he's going to win...he wins. I like a confident person who actually DELIVERS.

As an aside...I feel like the past few challenges have been designed with Terry in mind to win. They've all been very physical challenges and none of the others really have stood a chance...then Terry got on the team without Cirie which meant his team would win and he would eat before the next challenge...and he won THAT one too. I don't know if I'm imagining this or not...but it seems like they want him to remain on the show by the types of challenges they keep having.

Yes!!! I'm so happy to see some good old fashioned Survivor scheming! Cerie is the man! Or, woman, but whatever, I cant believe she actually got everyone to swing her way. Too bad she probably won't win, but she's playing as well as she can.

For whatever reason, I'm still pulling for Terry. I got no problem with his arrogance. It's not that I want to see him win, so much as continue to thwart Casaya's plans to get rid of him. They're the ones who sent him to Exile Island in the first place, maybe in hindsight they might've wanted to send a weaker player that they wouldn't have to defeat twice in order to get rid of. He's looking like a lock for F3.

His non-strategy is working just fine so far. And as for his strategy, it wasn't that bad this week actually. In fact, he's only really been in a good position to bargain with Casaya with the other La Minans gone. His instincts were good, but obviously he didn't have much of a chance once Cirie got wind of his plans.

Yeah, Cirie's scheming was pretty damn good. I dunno, I'm still indifferent towards her. I mean it's not exactly a big coup to out manoeuvre Terry's alliance attempt with Danielle. If she manages to placate and/or get rid of Shane next week, maybe I'll be impressed. But right now I'm mostly hoping for Shane to get his wits together and stir sh*t up.

As always, loved the mute, crazy eye-rolling from Shane during Tribal Council.

Hey chronic, I missed ya. What do you think about a Courtney/Sideshow Bob split screen?

Loved Shane's face at tribal council. You could almost hear the gorilla noises in his head "Huh? Der? Doh!"

In my previous post, I forgot to mention that "airplaned" just might be used by the military. My dad was in the air force and my mom worked for the army so I've been around the military much of my life. The military love to turn nouns into verbs. They also love to come up with acronyms and then turn them into verbs and such. It's a whole other world, people.

kategal (#44), the setups for these challenges are so elaborate I imagine they have engineers designing them months in advance of filming. I can't believe they would be able (or would even want to) tailor the challenges to favor one contestant over others. However, the challenges this season have definitely been more physical then mental, although from what I recall Terry has kicked ass on the memory games and puzzles as much as the physical stuff.

Ok gang, I don't understand all the Terry hate either. Granted, other than Aras, he has no real physical competition (and Aras proved what a poseur he was this week), but, he's doing what he must do, which is win challenges.

Now, I recall the rules as the idol can be used to get you into the final three, but that it can't be used after that (as it would prevent the winner of that challenge choosing their F2 opponent).
A couple of scenarios:
Terry: Terry has 2 more challenges to go to get to final 3, and only has to win 1 of them. I like his odds. Now, let's say Terry wins next week's challenge to get to F4. He is automatically in F3, because he has the idol. But, if he wins the challenge to get into the F3, then he can protect one person to get into the F3. That would be a pretty darn powerful bargaining chip, wouldn't it? So, I am hoping for him to win the next two challenges, just so I can see that scenario play out.

If Terry doesn't win the F2 challenge, I think any winner of that would be foolish if they didn't take Terry to the F2.

Now, what happens next week? Terry had to feel snakebit by Danielle, but, let's face it, he's been pretty darn unsuccessful at scheming anyway, so Cirie's end-around shouldn't surprise him. If anything, it opens a door with the person who really got hosed - Shane. Clearly here, Danielle is the swing vote. Aras and Cirie are tight, and I think Terry and Shane are about to get tight. That leaves Danielle. She needs to start thinking about who she stands a better chance with in the F2, and I would say it's a heck of a lot better with either Shane or Terry, so she needs to move to that side. Luckily for her, they're both going to want her back on their side. She can sell Shane on it, since she was one of 5 people who betrayed him. With Terry, well, she's the one who went back on her word with him, but, he's in no real position to deal, is he?

Anyway, great episode, great recap, and, I am not really that turned off by Danielle's hair pits, (I actually kind of like them), and, yech, girls have been growing hair for many episodes, maybe you all should just look closer...

Another Terry fan here. I love seeing him kick the Casayans butts... bunch of pretentious jackasses.

Jack for President! (or at least columnist)

This episode of Survivor was one of my favorites ever - Shane and the blackberry was pure gold! He is so outta his mind that he still thinks he is in charge of this game. I love when he sticks his ethiopian belly out and pouts! I keep waiting for Sally Struthers to pop out from behind a tree and wipe the flies away from Shanes face while he sits on his thinkin' stump.

As for Shane aligning with Terry, that can never happen since he promised his poor childs life to Danielle and the other Casayans. That would be rich if Terry and Shane made it to the final 2. Terry would be a shoe-in but I cant wait to hear what Shane has to say on the jury!

I think Terry is outplaying and so far he has outlasted the rest of his tribe. He might just outwit them all purely by winning all the challenges. He is an incredible player in that there is nothing he cant do and no matter how inept he is at scheming (he has nothing to work with)- he is hard to dislike IMO.

Cirie has done nothing physical to stay in this game. She is lucky to still be here; a bit like the fishmonger last season. She was supposed to be gone after day 8. But she is so entertaining and I cant help but enjoy her attempts to stay inside her bathing suit!!

Great recap and comments from all - cant wait until the next show!

On a somewhat related note, anyone noticed how ugly Sally was at the end of the show?

She looked like a 2 dollar hooker. Much better on the island. And Courtney looked pretty damn good in the Early Show Survivor spot!

Allow me to paraphrase the Butterfly Effect:

If a Cirie falls into the water in Panama, will it cause a tsunami in Sri Lanka?

Sorry, that was kind of mean, heh. I do like Cirie. I think that she's the smartest player left in the game and has a good chance to win it all. But that doesn't mean she isn't hilarious and at the same time painful to watch in physical challenges.

Shane is an unoriginal lame-ass. This whole blackberry thing is a poor imitation of Greg from season one when he kept pretending to talk into a shell like it was a cell phone.

IM to Shane: Get some original material, asshat.

Just to clear up any confusion - I took this straight from the Survivor page on the cbs website:

"Terry hastily pries open the box to reveal the coveted Immunity Idol, which will keep him safe from the vote through the Final Four!"

Hey LQ, gosh have I been lying that low? Yeah I cut the internet in order to focus on finishing my diss this summer, and am generally annoyed with the time I waste on the internet (hello TVgasm, love ya anyway), but alas still got some random wi-fi seepage that I have trouble resisting. She's got a bit of Sideshow Bob, but I'm thinking more that dude who used to date Winona Ryder circa Reality Bites, ummm, names escapes me.

#53, I wouldn't call Sally ugly, but for some reason a lot of the female contestants, especially the attractive ones, look better on the show than cleaned up afterwards (and enough of all that pithair bitching B-side et al). Actually, come to think of it, same can be said for the male contestants too (Bobby Jon, Jamie, and Brandon come to mind).

First noticed the "looks better dirty" effect with Colleen. It's a rather puzzling phenomenon. I wonder who'll clean up good or bad this year. And why do I get the feeling Courtney will look exactly the same.

I haven't watched Survivor in a while, so what a great episode to come back to. I was so suprised to see Cirre was still on the show. Or Tittie McGee as I like to call her in my head. Hope she wins!

To all the Terry lovers: his ability to win all the challenges is NOT outwittng, or outlasting- just outplaying. I won't fault him for that, and I don't hate him either. I just don't want him to win the million. It has nothing to do with supporting our troops, or with the mindset of a Navy pilot on a reality show. It just has to do with the fact that I think he's too cocky, and isn't playing the game to win the million, but to just keep himself in it. He can only use the idol to advance himself to the final four (Probst said that when he first mentioned the indiv. idol). After that- I truly think that even if he keeps winning challenges, he won't be voted as the sole survivor by the jury. Just like Boston Rob. He might play hard, but he's burned too many bridges now.

Jesus_loves_you (#34), sorry, I'm Canadian so Terry's military career doesn't quite dazzle me. I just don't find him likeable.

So Tabby Lavalamp, do Canadians not like the military or is it that you don't like the military? I admit to not knowing as much about Canada as I probably should but wasn't aware Canadians were unimpressed with the military. Not trying to start a fight just wondering why being Canadian means you're not dazzled by Terry's career?
Zoobabe, I don't think Terry has burned any bridges. The final tribal council might show things differently but I didn't get the feeling that the La Minas were upset with Terry. And Courtney was stabbed in the back by Cirie, Aras and Danielle not Terry. If he makes it to the final two, which Casayan Terry is standing next to will have more to do with whether he wins or not, I think. Since Casayans outnumber La Minas, tribe loyalty may come into play more than bitterness. We'll have to see.

Zevonia (#62), I don't want to start any arguments either but I'm also Canadian and I can vouch for Tabbylavalamp about not being impressed with military people. It's not so much that we don't like them it's just that we don't automatically put them up on a pedestal and worship them as gods just because they wear a uniform. Our forces are also currently on active duty in Afghanistan and we do have a genuine respect and admiration for them but (again, no offence) it seems to be an American thing to be an ethusiastic flag waver and patriot. It's just not that big a deal up here.

zevonia- I still think that Terry HAS burned too many bridges with the ex-Casayans on the jury. His ridiculous attempts at scheming, and his cocky attitude when continuing to win have made him their enemy. If I had the money to bet on it, I'd wager that there is no way that he'll be voted as the sole survior. Even if he makes it to the final two, that's as far as he'll get.

Someone mentioned the "looking better dirty" deal of some of the survivors. I'm in total agreement with that, I used to wonder if it was just the starvation thing. But it happens with (most not all) the jury members too. I think it's just the au-naturel thing. You know no-makeup, no primping for the cameras (well except for our boy Aras) natural lighting too. And poor Danielle, all the grief on the pit-hair...I'm all for shaving whenever possible in the "real-world", but all us girls I think secrectly wonder how the survivor girls manage some of those issues. The thought that popped in my head was damn, I hope I could look that good with hairy pits (it almost just looked like a shadow). And if it came down to a choice between a razor or a toothbrush, I think I'd HAVE to go for the toothbrush...can't stand the feeling of fuzzy teeth.

Go CIRIE! She surprised me on a couple physical challenges at the beginning, that she was holding her own, if not almost kicking butt, maybe surprised cause you'd totally write her off on the physical stuff...I'm wondering if she's playing it up just a little...I mean there's just no doubt that Terry is going to dominate strength/edurance, she was holding her own helping Casaya during team wins, she's appeared as the "weak" member since the merge. I still think it's Aras Shane and Cirie to the 3 and Cirie and Shane at the end...

Wizzard, thanks for the explanation. I didn't realize there was such a big cultural difference in that area. Oh well, live & learn.
Zoobabe, I agree that Terry is not liked by most of the Casayans but he only needs 4 to win. Assuming he has the two La Minas, then there's Bruce. The two of them were on the old men tribe together. Now Courtney was just screwed by 3 of the 4 Casayans left so... Of course, now that he's won the car, he'll probably be killed by the curse. If Cirie makes it to the final 2 she would win. Most of the past winners of survivor have not been the best at physical challenges but have had at least one really close alliance. As for all the people complaining that Terry is only good at physical challenges, well, at least he's good at something. Most of the others haven't been good at anything.
mag-o-hats- I agree. I would have to take a toothbrush over a razor. That is, if I were crazy enough to sign up for this show in the first place!

Now if Terry were retired NHL, that would be a different story, eh Canadians?

On the whole pit hair issue, remember that while we're watching this for months, the actual game only lasts 39 days. I think your average WASPy girl is not going to have a serious pit hair issue in that short of a time frame, but if she is one of the more swarthy ethnic groups: Italian, Greek, Eastern European Jewish, Middle Eastern, look out! Danielle is Italian-American, isn't she?

I don't think Terry has burned any jury bridges. From the merge, Casaya has made no secret to him that they want him out, so why would they expect him to stay loyal to anyone. They can't fault him for trying to scheme to stay in the game. Having said that, he sucks at scheming. Back when he didnt stay with the astronaut was his first problem, then when he didn't save Nick, that was the only time he couldnt have gotten numbers.
Of course Cirie could out strategize him since she has several more options as far people trusting her. I do remember that one challenge when they had to tackle people and capture those flags or whatever, she was doing good holding the other chicks down!
Oh yeah, and why is Aras such a physical threat, he couldnt even beat Courtney on that rope thing!
Shane is so hilarious to watch, total train wreck, I love it.
Obviously next week we're going to get some family member action based on Shane dropping to his knees. Oh and who must be the freak thats agreed to be Shane's business partner? I shudder at the thought that there are 2 of him out there.
The only time I've ever agreed with Courtney...Aras IS beautiful. Yes please!

sorry i meant, that was the only time Terry COULD get numbers.

one more thing, Danielle doesnt stand a chance in the Final 2, she's always been the lazy one at camp.

Theay aren't allowed to shave yet we never see bikini fuzz. Strange.

noodle, Shane's business partner is probably a coatrack in the corner of his office that he often consults for marketing ideas.