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Sunday, March 28, 2010
1:18 pm
31 Comments
This week, on Survivor: Sandra becomes my best friend for life. Let’s hang out!Back from the ouster of Tom, Colby looks sad, so James offers to give him a hug. I’ m not sure whether he’s being genuine or trying to be a dick, but I’m pretty sure it’s the latter, since 75 percent of all things James does are done just to be a dick. If I were Colby, I would have punched him in the patella.
Over by the fire, Candace tells us that she voted for Tom “to protect herself”, because she didn’t want to put her neck out there even further than she already has. This isn’t stopping Amanda from taking aim at Candace; Amanda tells us that “everyone’s annoyed at Candace because no one trusts her”. Annoying the annoying isn’t something I’m faulting Candace for. How can you be annoyed by Candace but not be annoyed by Rupert or James? They are walking embodiments of your little brother following you around all, “I’m not touching you! I’m not touching you!”
That same night at the Villains tribe, Russell gets out of bed to have a conversation with Rob, who sits by himself on the beach. “I don’t want to be at your throat and you be at my throat,” he says to Rob. Russell tells us that he did this to make it look like he’s not going after Rob when he is, but it’s fairly obvious that the reason why he’s doing it is because he’s terrified of Rob. Rob, of course, isn’t buying it, telling him that everyone’s upset because he went looking for the idol, so if he has it, he’d better hand onto it tight, because he’s going to need it. Russell denies that he has the idol, because he is an idiot (I mean seriously, what’s the point of maintaining that ruse now?), and Rob’s like “Well, go find it then! Watch your back!” and then walks away abruptly, leaving Russell a quivering mess. “You watch YOUR back,” Russell tries to add, trying to sound badass but coming off scared and unnerved. “Good talk, Russell,” Rob says hilariously. Man, I could watch that over and over again. Advantage: Rob.
The next day the Heroes get a treemail filled with a bunch of ambiguous rhymes that mean nothing, so they head off to the challenge not knowing what to expect. When they arrive and Probst announces that Tom was voted out instead of James, the Villains are pretty surprised. “He must have a pretty strong alliance,” Danielle says, nailing it.
The challenge today is going to be for individual immunity, because both tribes are going to Tribal Council. This challenge was done in Tocantins: each person will be attached to a long rope, which is twisted around an obstacle course. The first person from each tribe to navigate along the rope to the end will win immunity. Then, the two people that win will face off against each other for the right to watch the other tribe’s Tribal Council while enjoying a picnic of hot dogs.
The Heroes go first, and James actually does pretty well, despite his injury. He’s even in the lead momentarily, but Candace gets out ahead and manages to eke out a win. “Candace was really the only thing stopping Colby from going home,” JT says.
Villains’ heat. Of course Rob and Tyson are awesome at it (Tyson won this challenge in Tocantins, Probst points out), and Sandra is continuing her tradition of being almost comically inept at all challenges. And thus Rob wins immunity, which made me unnecessarily happy because I was totally thinking that he would be going home this episode, thanks to Russell’s idol.
So Rob takes on Candace for reward, but this challenge is not interesting enough to watch three times, so it’ll come as no shock to you that Rob beats Candace. The Villains will go to Tribal Council first, and then they’ll get to watch the Heroes’ TC while they eat.
Back at the Villains camp, Parvati is already scrambling. “During the challenge, I was thinking that I HAD to win it, or I was going home,” she says. Has Parvati ever won individual immunity? Lemme check quickly…yep! Once. Hm, so I guess she did have a shot then. I was going to mock her, but now I can’t. Damn!
Rob gathers everyone in his alliance (Courtney, Jerri, Tyson, Coach and Sandra) to tell them the plan: they’re going to vote out Parvati, but they’re going to make Russell think it’s him so that they can flush out the idol. Coach tells us that he’s the middleman, but that he’s a man of his word so he’s going to stick with Rob. What happened to being “knighted” by Russell, eh? I’d point out Coach’s hypocrisy, but at this point it’d be the equivalent of going “Hey, have you heard that some people are upset about this health care bill?”
Rob and Russell have another conversation in the woods, and it goes like this. I will transcribe it, because it is magic:
Rob: “You’d better be careful. Do you have the idol?”
Russell: “I don’t have it.”
Rob: “Well, you’d better go get it.”
Russell: “I don’t have it.”
Rob: “Well, it’s been real!”
And then Rob reaches to high five him, and Russell, looking sublimely confused, participates in the high five, which is beyond hilarious. This is all moving way too fast for him!
Later, when Russell’s had ample time to write a comeback, because he’s made it clear that he can’t really go toe to toe with Rob in a war of words by this point, he begins his offensive: “Rob said ‘It’s better to play with me than against me’, and I’m going to make him eat them words.”
He proceeds to call a meeting with Parvati and Danielle, telling them that he’s not dumb and he knows that they’re going to vote for Parvati and not him, so he’s going to give Parvati the idol and they’re all going to put Tyson’s name down. This whole conversation, by the way, looks highly suspicious and heavily edited; we never see anyone’s mouth moving or forming the words on the audio track. I’m sure Russell figured all of this out later, but I very much doubt that he came up with all this on his own, which is what the show is trying to tell us. The much more likely scenario is that Parvati figured it out (especially because it involves her going home), but since this show is determined to show us how “smart” Russell is, we’re just going to have to take it at face value and say he came up with it himself, I guess. Seriously, go back and watch this scene and tell me it makes sense.
Over at the Heroes tribe, Colby is telling everyone that he knows his time is up, so there’s no need to scramble, he has no hard feelings, and everyone should just relax and enjoy their afternoon. James, however, can’t keep his mouth shut, and decides to tell Colby that he’s a shadow of his former self. “You’re The Great Colby, but if your sleepy ass gets beat by a fat man and a cripple, you have not done anything.” Hey, um, James? NEITHER HAVE YOU. Yeah, you yelled a bunch a couple of challenges ago, but after that your largest contribution to the tribe was to scream at them a bunch about how they can’t use One Voice and then beat up an old man.
Meanwhile, the unholy triumvirate of Amanda, JT and Rupert talk about who to vote out. Apparently, they’re considering getting rid of James because they’re worried they may have to run eventually, and he also does no work around camp and eats way, way too much food. They want “the strongest possible five”, which apparently means getting rid of Colby or James, but really should involve a debate between Rupert and James, not that Rupert is going to tell you that.
Amanda, who wants to keep her ally James around, decides to ask him to prove himself:
“Can you run?” she says, “Because you’re gonna have to show everyone. Also you can’t steal any more bananas.”
When the banana issue is brought up, James gets very defensive. “You do take a lot of bananas,” she says, and they get into an incredibly banal argument about how he never offers anyone else any. Amanda does make the very salient point that when you’re part of a group of very hungry people, eating too much can be a big, big problem. “You need to prove that you can run, because if there’s a chance that you’re not okay, that’s bad,” Amanda says. James’ response? “I’m tired of talking.” Oh, James: you could never get tired of talking.
James walks up to Rupert and JT: “We’re gonna have the Hero Olympics, let’s race,” he says. He lines up with JT, who of course smokes him because James is legitimately injured. “James is the kind of guy who will never admit that he’s hurt,” JT says. That’s true, but it has more to do with the money than whatever heart you happen to think James has. He’s made it pretty clear that his only heart has to do with wanting to win, not because he has any sort of love for competition. In fact, if there weren’t money involved, I’m pretty sure James would be posted up in a corner somewhere.
Back at the much more interesting Villains tribe, Rob has finally arrived at the revelation that they don’t need to pretend to vote for Parvati; they have enough of a majority that they can split the vote 3-3, flush out the idol, and get rid of whomever they like with a revote. Rob also knows they’re going after Tyson because he’s the second strongest, so it benefits him the most to stick to this plan. They decide that Courtney/Coach/Jerri will vote for Parvati, and the other three will vote for Russ. At this point, I’m starting to lick my lips at the thought of a Survivor without Russell. You guys remember that from, like, a billion years ago? It was pretty cool.
Sometime before Tribal Council, Russell pulls Tyson over and tells him that there’s nothing he can do to save Parvati, so he’s going to vote for her as well. Tyson tells us that this presents an excellent opportunity to flop his vote to Parvati to make sure she goes home, because he really wants her gone. Of course, none of this makes sense: his additional vote does nothing to help, and all he has to do is follow the plan and she’ll go home anyway if she’s eligible for elimination. But pretty much everyone with half a brain would realize this, and I guess he’s too busy coming up with sarcastic repartee to process properly. We will address this later.
Russell, meanwhile, has figured out that he’s probably fucked, telling us that he knows that they have enough to create a 3 way tie and that will mean that they can do whatever they want. “But are they smart enough to do that?” he wonders. Answer: yes and no.
Tribal Council. The Villains file in; Probst asks some of the old school players how the game has changed since played last. Wait, we’re not going to talk about past relationships for once? I’m confused.
Jerri tells Probst that the actual survival aspects of the game aren’t as important, and Rob says that the most important change is the advent of the immunity idol. “We all know who has it, RUSSELL,” Sandra awesomely volunteers. Man, do I love her.
He continues to deny that he has the idol, which again is idiotic, because I’m sure Coach has spilled the beans. “Well, if you don’t have it and you didn’t find it, you best look for it,” Sandra responds. Let’s get married!
Tyson points out that the idol is pretty useless when the numbers are this large, because you can refute it if you vote properly. Yeah, but that would require you to vote properly, TYSON.
After a short interlude in which people point out that Parvati and Rob are threatening (WE KNOW), it’s time to vote. We see an unprecedented number of votes this time; pretty much everyone but Tyson and Russell are shown. Sandra’s vote is (of course) the best; she votes for Russell and says the following: “You need to get in the ocean and wash your ass.” Just…perfection, that. Shut this whole thing down, because that’s the best it’s going to get.
Once all the votes are cast, Probst asks for the idol, and then…COMMERCIAL! I bet the editors have been just dying to do that. When we get back, Russell gets up just like everyone thought he would and pulls out the idol. He goes to hand it to Probst and stops at the last second, because Russell has scripted this moment out in his head for maximum drama because he is the biggest queen ever. “No, not this way,” he says to Probst, turning to the rest of his tribe. “You know Coach, you always say loyal, honesty and trust is the best thing, and I’m gonna stick to that. Parvati?” he says, handing off the idol and smirking. Way to botch your big moment by saying “loyal”, by the way.
Parvati plays the idol. “Such a gentleman,” she says. I will say this for Russell: that whole thing, while overly dramatic and idiotic, was pretty smart in that it likely got Coach to think about working with him again.
The votes are read: The first two are for Russell, and then there are three for Parvati. Now, the next one should also be for Russell, but it’s not: it’s for Parvati too, because Tyson switched his vote. Then there are three votes for Tyson, and because Tyson himself switched his vote, that’s enough to send him home. What a dumbass. He is, literally, the first person ever to vote himself out of the game. Way to go!
God, we were THIS CLOSE to getting rid of Russell. It would have been so poetic, to see him get sent home as a result of over thinking the game and giving the idol to Parvati. Instead, we have…this. Not great. A lot of people have been giving Russell credit for convincing Tyson to change his vote, but I’m much more inclined to attribute it to Tyson’s stupidity. Russell’s trying whatever he can at this point, and I’m not sure he deserves the credit that’s being heaped on him for this particular move. I mean, it’s moderately smart to tell someone you’re voting for your own ally, but on the other hand, Russell has been so inept this season that taking out one person isn’t exactly turning the game around for him. It’s like, “Congratulations, you managed to briefly overcome your almost unprecedented social incompetence by playing an idol! You’re the greatest player ever!”
Wrong. The “Greatest Player Ever” would never cause everyone to hate him, playing the social game so poorly as to be almost hopelessly outnumbered. I mean, we all know that Russell knows how to work an idol; that’s been established. But as I’ve said a million times, that doesn’t make you a great strategist. He’s pretty much hopelessly fucked himself by acting like an asshole and making no friends, and while Tyson’s elimination is a temporary setback, Russell is still massively outnumbered. Even if he finds another idol and saves his ass again (which is not out of the question), he’s still pretty screwed because he’s unlikable and full of himself. Even if he does get to the end, odds are that the jury’s going to be stacked with Villains, and they all clearly hate his ass and thus would never vote for him to win.
And that’s my point: Finding idols will, at best, only allow Russell to continue his inevitable march toward second place. This is the very best Russell could ever hope to do, because he is Russell. Everyone who’s ever won the game has one thing in common: they can make other people like them. Even your Parvatis and Jenna Morascas have the skill to make friends with others; Russell’s too busy making everything about Russell to bother, which is why he will never, ever win. Bet on that shit.
Anyway, Russell benefits from Tyson’s incredible stupidity and stays around, so he and the rest of the Villains get to eat in front of the Heroes while they conduct their vote. After some standard salivating over the hot dogs, Probst turns talk to James’ injury. When James tells the group that he lost in a footrace to JT, Probst points out that most healthy people would lose to JT. He also asks JT if he’s single, but that part gets edited out.
James takes this opportunity to get all disappointed daddy on Colby, telling the room that Colby was his hero, but that he’s been brought down to earth this season. “It’s like seeing Superman up close, and he’s wearing nothing but a fat suit.” A fat suit? I think he means one of those suits that make you look like a muscleman, but trying to make sense of James’ words is…not the greatest use of anyone’s time, so we’ll move on.
“Colby, do you want to be here?” James continues. “There are doers and there are say-ers, and I’m a doer.”
Yes yes y’all, the guy who has spent an entire season bullying people and shit talking them for hours at a time and constantly referring to himself in the third person just called himself a “doer”. Reflect on that shit for a minute. He could, literally, not be more wrong. He is the antonym of everything he just said.
And then, to prove my point, James continues to talk, delivering a long soliloquy about how he had no idea that there’s “banana etiquette”, and that you have to ask everyone else if they want a banana whenever you eat. He’s completely missing the point, which is that you’re supposed to be considerate enough to leave food for everyone else instead of just eating everything in sight. Yes, they’re the ridiculous ones for wanting food left when they’re hungry. HOW DARE THEY?
Of course, everyone thinks that James is just hilarious, because his home spun, frank attitude is just so damn charming. Quit laughing at him, all of you!
Time to vote. I was pretty sure that Colby was done at this point, but when the votes are read, it’s unanimous for James. Hey, the Heroes finally got rid of someone shitty! He hugs Amanda goodbye and heads off, telling them that he’s going to be good and drunk in the next five minutes.
You know what the best part of all this is? We’re not going to have to listen to a self-centered James jury question this year! But how will we know who’s eating the apple? HOW?
31 Comments
ITA that Russell is no evil genius!! Tyson is just a freakin idiot!! That shit would never have worked on ANY other member of that alliance! Ugh!! Look at me, almost a week later and I’m still so pissed!!
ITA that Russell is no evil genius!! Tyson is just a freakin idiot!! That shit would never have worked on ANY other member of that alliance! Ugh!! Look at me, almost a week later and I’m still so pissed!!
Poor Tyson — knocked out TWICE now by a split vote gone awry. I wish they would’ve shown more of his awesome witty repartee while he was around, since he spent all that time crafting it at the expense of his strategy.
And James … well, I just don’t know where we’ll get our fruit-centric analogies from now. I’m not sure if I can make make the apple metaphor and banana etiquette quotes last all season.
Speaking of food, I finally figured out that all these seasons of Survivors are missing out on a free and easily obtainable indigenous source of protein. I mean, it’s unseemly, but if you’re starving … well, I’m just sayin’.
It takes a special kind of person to blindside himself. Well done, Tyson!
here4beer summed it up perfectly. Tyson is out because Tyson is stupid…not because Russell has any brains (which he doesn’t. He’s just getting a kind edit.) But I guess it’s easier for us to know who the smarter player is (Rob) because these jerks hadn’t seen Russell “play” the game when this season was taped.
And I put “play” in quotations because without the Immunity Idol, Russell has ZERO strategy. His is a plan of desperately looking for an object to save him, instead of actually working within strategic alliances. Somewhere deep down he must know just how despicable and repulsive he is…and he realizes most normal human beings would reject him for being such a pathetic little loser.
Tyson is no loss…but seeing Russell get the boot, and being free of him for the remainder of the season, would have improved this show immeasurably.
This made me laugh: “At this point, I’m starting to lick my lips at the thought of a Survivor without Russell. You guys remember that from, like, a billion years ago? It was pretty cool.”
Russell does seem to have been on this show for a long, long time. We’ve been talking about Russell (all of us) for what seems like forever. How SURVIVOR will exist after Russell is beyond me. He has become the show.
Regarding the events of last Thursday night: Not only did Russell get to save his fantasy girl (Parvati) but he also got to kick his arch enemy (Boston Rob) in the nuts. For me, it was thrilling TV watching the Villains’ tribal council simply because I had no idea what was going to happen. I don’t know if Russell will make it to the final two mainly because I can’t foretell the future. That also prevents me from predicting whether or not he could win. I am sure of one thing though “ Russell has the biggest balls of any Survivor in Survivor history. Those beauties are the size of coconuts. Watching Boston Rob’s face after Tyson was sent home was pure joy. I LIKE BOSTON ROB but Boston Rob went toe to toe with Russell and Boston Rob got his ass kicked.
Question: Does Russell have photos of Mark Burnett banging a goat?? I feel that it has to be that. What else could explain the Protection he recieves season after season?
Last season he was given a GPS to find every immunity idol that Burnett kept re-hiding to make sure he advanced as far possible.
This season Burnett is filling his pants with “that other form of protein” over the Boston Rob vs Russell match-up. He HAS to keep Russell around for the drama and Parvarti too. Tyson was expendable and basically a self idulged closet queen idiot so he can go.
First if somebody maps out a plan where you are 100% safe if you follow the plan – duh. Second, Russell “pulls” Tyson about 5 feet away from camp to hatch his plan and the others aren’t going to question-reinforce with Tyson.
You can bet that immunity idol is coming back (did not for Tom/heros but they are boring and not named Russell)and Burnett will do what ever he can to ensure Russell and Rob advance as far as possible – he has just lost his touch as far a hiding the puppet strings attached to the cast.
I do not mean to be cynical (well I sorta do) and not to float consprirocy theory’s buuuuut The Young and the Restless is starting to look more real. I love this show but felt really manipulated by the way the Villan’s TC went down.
I would really like to hear if other Survivor fanatics saw anything close to what I saw happen this week….
Oh yeah bye James – Hero’s are still DOA as they should have booted him last week and kept Tom. Yawn.
I cry FOUL! The producers had their hands all over this episode just as soon as Rob figured out a way to get rid of Russell. I think Tyson, who is actually smart, was tired of playing the game . When the producers were looking for someone to take the bullet, he volunteered. The producers just can’t stand the idea of Survivor without big mean Russell. I am over this season now. Rob will go soon, Amanda’s running the Hero tribe. I guess I could get behind Sandra, she’s still pretty awesome…
Thanks for the recap. I’m sure if the contestants were allowed to discuss it they could tell a lot of tales about that Villian tribal council.
Totally agree wih everything Schoonie and all the Russell bashers in the comments are saying. And he is definitely receiving Protection, though God only knows why. He has a terrible personality and looks like he smells worse than Rupert (no easy feat), and he has the worst case of Small Penis Syndrome I’ve ever seen. If Boston Rob goes before him, I doubt I’ll be able to continue watching all his bragging (to the cameras of course, as the little twerp never confronts anyone about anything to their faces). Rant over. I was pretty happy when James got the boot though, at least there’s one less bullshitter to deal with.
Weeee . .. .I don’t really care who’s to credit or blame, but I’m personally enjoying the flips and flops in the TC. Seeing James go was just the cream . . . and Schoonie, I know you hate lil’ Russ with the volume of a thousand screaming banshee’s, but he was the one to suggest Tyson change his vote. I wonder about the time line, myself–like he didn’t report back what Russ was going to do . . . doesn’t seem likely, and quite fishy, and corrupt, and scripted and all the other things everyone is saying. eitherway, I don’t care, it’s fun to watch, and now . . . if they can only get rid of Rupert, I will be real happy.
Also, didn’t realize Sandra said that, coz I usually zip to the vote tally. Damn, woman!!!
Colby lost all of his charisma . . . nothing is as shattering as a huge meh sitting passively in the water . . . sigh . . .
I don’t think anything was being manipulated by the producers. I bet they’re quivering with joy over the outcome, yes, but if something like that were to surface the show would go down in flames. I don’t believe they’d risk that.
Aside from that, however, I do believe that they’re willing to edit the footage to make one person look smarter than another. Russell has shown that he’s intelligent enough to work out that he was probably going home and cunning enough to try and flip Tyson. I don’t believe it was entirely his idea, no, but I also don’t believe that Tyson was as clueless as his edit led us to believe.
I read an interview with Tyson on People where he said he was the one to tell Russell, Danielle, and Parvati about the split and that there was nothing they could do about it. So you were right, Schoonie about that sketchy part where you couldn’t actually see them discussing the plan. We all know Russell isn’t THAT smart. You however are brilliant! I agree with everything you say about Russell and am hoping he goes this week!
Okay, 1. Glad James is gone. 2. Sorry to see Tyson go, I always enjoy his snarky comments. BUT what a dummy! Ugh it’s so frustrating that they had a chance to break up the Parvarti/Russell pair!
The editing was definitely off this episode; they either didn’t have enough time given the double elimination (I’m being nice) or they just wanted to f*** with our minds (much more likely).
Okay, 1. Glad James is gone. 2. Sorry to see Tyson go, I always enjoy his snarky comments. BUT what a dummy! Ugh it’s so frustrating that they had a chance to break up the Parvarti/Russell pair!
The editing was definitely off this episode; they either didn’t have enough time given the double elimination (I’m being nice) or they just wanted to f*** with our minds (much more likely).
sorry ’bout the double post.
I’m torn when it comes to Russel. On one hand I want him off my the show as soon as possible. But on the other hand the idea that he could make it to the end and get 2nd place again is absolutely delicious.
Whew! I feel much better now with the idea that someone else came up with the plan and (patiently) explained it to Russell.
I read elsewhere that another theory that the scene with Colby and James talking together earlier in the show was taped AFTER they’d already decided to get rid of James.
Just more evidence of the extreme tampering the editors/producers have been doing to this show.
Which is, of course, reality television’s version of jumping the shark. Who knows, maybe in 20-30 years time, this will become known as ‘Giving Russell the Idol’ (which will also no doubt become a euphemism exactly in the way Mr. D. is thinking right now).
Anyhoo, I have no doubt that it was Parvati who came up with the master plan because SHE is the greatest Survivor player ever, hands down. At least she has a win to back it up.
The worst thing that ever happened to this show was the immunity idol. By corollary, Russell is the second worst thing to happen to this show.
Your reading this, Survivor producers? Yes? Well, fuck you.
Hey Itchy:
I gave up thinking about sex for LENT. [It was that or cigarettes.] So, don’t get me thinking about how SEXY AND HOT Russell is.
I would suggest you anti-Russell-ites start self-medicating yourselves cause I suspect there is a very good chance that Mister Russell Hantz will be this years FAN FAVORITE. [James ain't gettin' it and neither is Rupert. If it was awarded to the "person who most resembles a cockaroach" Sandra would win but alas it's not.]
How come this show gets more exciting every week and American Idol gets more boring?
Answer: It’s the Russell Hantz factor. Russell IS the X FACTOR!
How can anyone say Russell isn’t a great strategic player? Look at all the mayhem that hidden machete has caused.
ohhhyeah: I take back every bad thing I said about Russell, you’ve shown me the light. Seriously though, best comment ever.
ohhhyeah: I take back every bad thing I said about Russell, you’ve shown me the light. Seriously though, best comment ever.
For the people who actually think Russell has a strategic thought in his head, answer this: How do you use the same losing strategy in back-to-back seasons? He bonded with Natalie and her strategy to win consisted of her being more likable than Russell. We can argue the validity of said strategy, but we can’t argue the fact that it worked for her. Now, he is teamed with Parvati, who is exponentially more dangerous and cutthroat than Natalie, and he doesn’t seem to think that Parv will cut him at the first opportunity? What an idiot? That’s not strategy; that’s assinine and clearly not taking the lesson out of properly assessing not only his competition, but also his alliance partners.
I just watched District 9 and it’s uncanny how much Russell resembles one of the prawns.
Seriously, Tyson literally did vote himself out. Needlessly. Even sticking with the 3-3 split and believing Russel would have meant 2 votes for Tyson, 3 for Russel, and 4 for Parv. This has to be one of the dumbest moves in Survivor history, right after Fans v. Faves when the women convinced the dumb guy to give up immunity then voted him out. I guess i have to give Russel a little credit for that, but seriously, how can he still be this unlikeable? Hasn’t he figured that out? He is one of the worst Survivors ever. I still miss Cirie.
I haven’t been able to keep up much on this season because of travel… but, the answer is always ROB! Rob for the win!! Because he’s magic.
To Mr. Dangerous—– LOVE your comment! Thank you, thank you. And why is Sandra still here???? All she does is eat and bitch! That’s exactly what she did before and she was handed the million. It should at least go to someone who actually PLAYS the game……. like Russell!!!
Ain’t no way tyson made that dumbass move without some type of “intervention”. Yeah I’m talkin’ to you Mark Burnett. As several of you have mentioned in the comments…even without Tyson switching his vote, even if he believed Russell’s bs, Parv would have gone home and there is just NO WAY Tyson didn’t figure that out. He made the conscious decision to allow this to happen and it bugs the shit out of me that he did.
Just as a sidenote…no way Russell figured out any of this on his own…he was clued in by someone…most likely Tyson and was then edited to look like he figured it out all by himself – totally annoying. Rob is making this season…not Russell…producers: just let the game play out and send Russell’s nogame ass home…please.
Theo – and man do I miss Cirie too
The man keeps topping himself. No one would have had the balls to do that, they would have kept the idol and then end up in an alliance of two to get slowly picked off by Rob’s team of 6. Going for broke (with a great manipulation of Tyson)? Marvelously executed. NOBODY had a clue, including Rob and Parviti.
Benefits of his long term plan:
ht tp : // ww w. youtub e . co m / watc h?v =zZU3ny z9Fdw
Bear in mind that Tyson was blindsided in Tocantins during what should have been, from his perspective, an easy split vote. It makes sense that he would be paranoid about going into another one of those, especially when he knew he was the bait.
There’s no way Russell will win, because he’s entirely socially incompetent, but give him some credit: he is an excellent manipulator and is at his most dangerous in situations that should end with him being voted off. Preying on Tyson’s paranoia was the only possible way to get ahead in the game, and he pulled it off.
Tyson thought he would simply be putting the nail in Parvati’s coffin and wanted to keep himself as far away from being voted off as possible. He knew his neck was on the line if somebody in his alliance flipped their vote, and in his eagerness to prevent a repeat of his elimination in Tocantins, he made the wrong decision. Yes, he was stupid, but it was assisted stupidity.
Say what you will about Russell’s ego and maliciousness, but there is no denying that he is the absolute best player at clawing his way out of a corner in the history of this game. You don’t have to respect him in general, but you should at least have a little respect for his tenacity and perfect execution of incredibly risky schemes.
Ha! I’ve watched virtually every season of Survivor, and I watch it primarily for one reason: drama. It is pure entertainment to me, and toward that end Russel is a Cornucopia of goodness.
I think it’s pretty clear what happened. The editors over edited the footage due to time constraints and for dramatic effect. This is nothing new in Survivor… or any other reality show.
Tyson was obviously trying to play all sides of the fence. According to an interview he gave he was the one who went to Russel and Parvati and told them the plan. Tyson was trying to make sure he didn’t make any real enemies. Thus, when Russel approached him and told Tyson that he was going to vote Parvati he saw additional potential to score points with Russel just in case things went badly with Rob. In order to keep Russel in his back pocket, he had to make sure Russel didn’t go home. Had things gone Tyson’s way he likely would have moved to get rid of Cortney or Sandra next instead of Russel as Rob would have wanted… and in so doing, it would have effectively kept Russel at his mercy.
…his big mistake? Believing and trusting Russel.
Russel KNEW his ass was on the line. If they split the vote successfully, then they would have to go back in for a re-vote. When that happened they all would have piled onto Russel. The move he made was the ONLY move he could make. Russel’s big mistake was going on the warpath with Rob.
…but of course, we all know that winning friends isn’t exactly where Russel shines. The comments here are evidence of that.
If you truly hate Russel, then there is one thing you should hope for above all else: That he makes it to the final two. Why? Because winning Survivor is -EVERYTHING- to Russel. If Survivor were a woman, Russel would be her stalker.
At this time he believes he won last season. He doesn’t realize he lost. When he sits down for the Reunion show in the final two, and he loses yet again… it will be poetic.
His ego is so large that he will never understand why he lost. It is as Schoonie points out largely a popularity contest. People are going to reward those they like. Russel only seems to invoke emotions opposite of like.
Imagine if Russel’s luck, tenacity, and aggressive playing style were merged with Cirie’s ability to be… well, likable. To have the ability to smile as you stab someone in the back, and have them walk away all but thanking you for the knife, and wanting to friend you on Facebook… such a player would be awesome to behold.
Like some others, I’m also disappointed to see Cirie go. I would have loved to see Cirie matched up against Russel. As things currently stand, I’m just waiting for the moment Parvati cuts Russel’s throat. “Thanks for saving me, sucka!” …or she might take him all the way to the end, knowing how unlikeable he is, and score herself another million. Poor Russel. I can’t imagine an individual left in the entire game who Russel could beat for the Million. He would have had to go against someone like Randy. The only two possible candidates left are Sandra and Cortney.