I thought Shane's son was a girl?

I think there is sexual tension between Terry and Aras.

Cirie should win, but will not be able to win the last physical endurance challenges. Sad. She should win.

KH

Did Terry's wife have the dreaded Seinfeld syndrome? Sometimes I look hot, sometimes I make you recoil in horror. Scary! Could Terry be any bigger of a dick? That is not a compliment. Shut your mouth, Tooly. He never stops rubbing it in and being a jerk. I loved when he won the immunity challenge, did a backflip, whooped and Shane was like "Shaddup already!" or something like that. For reward why didn't he just wring his hands in sorrow and say "Gee guys. That sucked that I had to ALLOCATE the love. I didn't know what to do. I'm so sorry." Instead he brought out his preferred "I am He-Man, master of the universe" attitude. I hope he does waste the idol. He hasn't made one smart psychological move to date, why change now?

Yuck! Did Courtney join the Sally school of Jezebel dirty whores? I loved her carefully coiffed bunch of dreads. Ridiculous. Bet she can't wait to go whine around on her parents 15 foot white couch on the shore.

Courtney and Shane may vote for Terry out of spite if he makes it to the final two. He convinced his whole feeble minded tribe so it's possible that this guy wins and goes down as the best/worst Survivor ever.

I also thought the idol couldn't be used after last night's Tribal Council, but I could be wrong.

Ticked me off that Aras and Danielle were mad at Terry about the way he "allocated the love". What did they expect him to do? I think he "allocated" as logically as possible. Danielle screwed him over in the Tribal Council, what did she expect?

At this point I really don't care who wins, although I'd like to see Terry win the next immunity challenge just to be able to say he's the only one who one it this season.

I think Terry is safe--the idol can be used through the final four tribal council, I believe.

What's confusing me is that next week isn't the finale despite it being the final four. Either something crazy is going to happen or we're going to have a boring-ass finale like we did with Australia.

I feel for poor Boston...his real dad is Shane, and his TV dad is Charlie Sheen. Kid can't catch a break anywhere.

I guess there's just no room in your minds for someone who fights long odds and continues to win. What, you want Terry to love the Casayans after the way they ganged up on his La Minas? Come on, he's earned the right to rub the Casayans' noses in their futility. Yes, he wold have liked to get some numbers, but the Casayans always refused to cut him slack. Yes. he's still frustrated at his failed attempts. No, I don't feel sorry for those that didn't get any love allocated (Danielle and Aras), but don't you think they made their own beds? Cirie got her man because Terry HAD to give ir to someone and I think it was generous of him to award a father (even one as crazy as Shane) time to be with his son.

Although I think it was cruel of Terry to say that a wife is superior to a mother, I relate to what he's saying: a man grows up and forms a new home with his mate and the mantle of queen of the home is bestowed on the wife. The mother is now secondary. Too bad he was dealing with Hawkboy, who didn't have anyone significant enough besides Mommy to bring to the island.

B-side, for once I continue to disagree with you. Terry is not an egotistical asshole. I've pointed out before that he grew up in a world where survival is the most important part of life. He served his country as one of the best and the brightest, a Navy fighter pilot who must be strong, agile, quick-witted and endowed with exceptional reflexes. He's on a par with Tom, who schemed and lied and outwitted his way to riches. Cirie is a nice woman. She's like you and me, an average person trying to succeed in a cruel world. That she's a nurse earns her points with me. That she's a physical wimp who couldn't survive on her own the way Terry has had to makes me reserve my vote and loyalty to Terry, probably the best survivor ever. He'll be back when they get around to the second "All Stars". It will be fun to see him compete against Tom.

As far as the idol is concerned, you have given me pause because now I can't remember if the word is "to" the final 4 or "through" the final 4. It would be cruel if Terry doesn't give his best only to find out the idol is worthless. No doubt you will cackle with demonic glee if that should happen.

'i'm gonna have a chocolate bar in, like, 1 MINUTE!' boo-hiss, shane. we were expected so much more from you. granted, the over-the-shoulder scowl-of-murderous-intent was fairly satisfying (take note, future 'project greenlight' directors), but i was really expecting more in-shane-ity. hopefully he's been saving some good lines for his tribal council speech on that blackberry.

but the hammy show he put on when little boston powers emerged compensated somewhat. and despite the stupid t-shirt and the goofy, overlong hair, mini-shane actually seemed like a fairly cool kid who is aware that his father is a raving lunatic. the highlight, however, was definitely H.B., whose sense of humor and attitude make me like cirie even more, and also served as a nice signpost of how far she has come from being scared of leaves to quietly masterminding the strategy side of the game. can't wait to see her get into it with terry next week. look out, he-man--ho chi-minh, kruschev, saddam hussein, and osama are NOTHING compared to the wrath of a pissed-off sistah.

as for aras and terry's little spat: i guess it's a matter of perspective. b-side (a confessed terry-hater) describes aras as the righteous interlocutor, putting mr. superior in his place. but he came off to me as a sore loser and a brat who needed to man up and recognize that, if he wanted to share a bed with his mom so bad, he shouldn't have dropped that bag and lost YET AGAIN to a guy who he's been targeting the WHOLE GAME and is almost twice his age, to boot. terry's logic was (typically) feeble--after all, he ranked shane's parent-child relationship over cirie's marriage, and i'm sure H.B. and cirie could have made better use of that private bedroom than the powers boys. but moms vs. wives aside, WHY ON EARTH would terry give a privilege to his # 1 nemesis? 'my mom's my rock.' oh, shut up, you pathetic, faux-hawk-wearing, new age douchebag.

my feelings toward terry are of the love/hate variety, which, in a way, doubles the pleasure: i get to cheer as terry repeatedly throws his abject superiority in the casaya slackers' faces, and then i get to laugh when cirie--terry's total opposite in every possible regard--once again effortlessly thwarts captain america's feeble voting strategy.

but the casaya 3 need to be careful, as their progressive path of backstabbing the crazies first could give terry a surprise win. the one up-side of terry's situation is that he cannot be accused of screwing over anyone on the jury, and, assuming he gets sensei miyagi's vote out of mutual old-dude respect, he will only need one of the wounded nut-bars' vote for a majority. sadly for terry (and fortunately for all you haters), his lack of self-awareness about how his ego is rubbing people will probably be enough to cost him the prize.

I have to confess - I like Terry. I still think he is playing a good game. He HAS outlasted and outplayed his whole tribe and half of a tribe that hates his ass and wants him gone but cant get rid of him.
This game has so many levels but a key one is outplaying and outwitting. Cirie is outwitting everyone and is a manipulation queen. She is so entertaining and if she could win just one challenge, she might deserve to win. I would be hard pressed, if on the jury, to give her the big bucks but she deserves 2nd. Terry earned the money - everyday he goes out there and plays for all he's worth. He is competitive and arrogant (he has won all 5 individual immunity challenges for gods sake!) and looks hot (i threw that in cause I couldnt help myself). He has had nothing to work with as far as alliances go - his whole tribe was picked off one by one.
The reward challenge was a no brainer - his wife and giving Shane a chance to spend time with the sainted Boston. If Shane hadnt have been voted off (good move for Cirie who saw this writing on the wall) he and Terry would have aligned which would have rocked for Terry and made the next few episodes enjoyable for everyone because Shane was an accident we all have to gawk at. I am sure he is hoping that Cirie is greatful that he gave her a chance to be with HB. But I am guessing Cirie isnt the greatful type.

I am almost certain the rules for the Immunity Idol were "through" the final four. It would be Terry's luck if he isnt able to use it after all the weeks of holding onto it but at least no one else found it.
I really think he has played the best physical game - his mental game is what is lacking - in that Cirie wins hands down with at least the last couple episodes to crow about.

I also thought the immunity idol could only get you as far as the final four.

You know, I was giving Terry the benefit of the doubt right up until he said offhandedly, "She's only 24, and it's only her mom." Talk about condescension. The man's got an ego the size of Montana. As for "survival of the fittest" and all that jazz, Dan the Astronaut came from a similar background, and he still knew how to treat people with respect and think of himself as a regular guy. I miss Dan. I hope to God that idol is now worthless and Terry screws himself over.

I hate Terry! And I mean I Haaaate Terry - in the I want to tie him down and rub his eyeballs with sandpaper way.

Okay, got that out of my system.

Shane's son looks like a teenage Jodi Foster from "Freaky Friday."

I thought they had said at the beginning that the immunity idol could not be used to get you into the final three. I could be wrong about this but I thought that's what it was. If that is the case that would be great if Terry ends up screwing himself.

was I the only one who noticed that Trish's teeth were unnaturally white?

B-Side, did you not think Boston looks like a young Jodie Foster? If we could get a side by side comparision photo of Boston and Jodie, I think you will have to agree.

This has been the best Survivor for armchair strategists, mainly because the person who keeps winning the immunity challenges is such a piss-poor strategist. He hasn't had to outwit anyone to get to where he is now--he's just had to coast on by winning immunity every week. Partnering with Terry has been the kiss of death for Casayans, and hopefully it'll send Danielle home next week.

I hope Terry gets some kind of weird jungle-related scrotal rot. That'd show him and his wife and her scary-ass veneers.

Now that that's out of my system: even if Terry doesn't win next week, it would be DUMB DUMB DUMB for them to bother voting for him, because it would give him the power to decide who goes home--and he'll probably try to get rid of Cirie. The best we Terry-haters can hope for next week is some kind of tie that would (hopefully) send Danielle home.

As far as I see it, the only one still out there who's probably unbeatable at the end is Cirie. None of them stand a chance against her. The one who probably wouldn't win against anyone is Terry. He's been an ass to way too many of the people on the jury. Yeah, he won all those immunity challenges, but that doesn't mean dick when you get to the end and we all know it.

I'm rooting for Aras and Cirie for the final two, although Aras has been a disappointment. A yoga instructor should have better focus and better balance. I thought he would win that "pour water into the tube" challenge. I thought that was his!

Speaking of the water-into-tube challenge, Shane played that like a crack addict. The water was EVERYWHERE except in that tube. I'm surprised he didn't dump the damn bucket over his head. I did find it endearing when he barked at Terry at the end of the challenge. Oh, Shane. How I'll miss your crackhead antics.

Terry is a jerk and I hope he loses. He has outwitted and outlasted people, but he hasn't outwitted anyone. Terry might be a good player, but he couldn't outwit a retarded third grader with Cheese Whiz on his chin. I hate Terry and hope he gets hit by a bus. His wife's a c*nt, too.

Poor Shane -
He's crazy.
He's hosed by his "posse".
He thinks his daughter is a boy.

hb

Damn ClariceStarling... (#16)-and I thought I hated Terry. Compared to you, my previous comment (#10) seems more like I'm whistling zip-a-dee-do-da out my ass.

Terry DESERVES to win based on how he has played 100x better than anyone else. Sadly, Danielle and Terry are gonna turn on Aras next tribal council, knowing that Cerie will not last in a physical challeng of endurance. THe twist is going to be Danielle leaving, though and Cerie and Terry will be the final two. IT WILL HAPPEN.

I can't believe Terry let Danielle screw him at THREE councils...but his revenge was sweet to see.

Aras has become a HUGE asshole. His trying to spar verbally with Terry about how his MOM is important to him just added to his gay factor.

Well, that was hugely entertaining recaping, especially this:

"Explain to me right now what happened," Shane commanded Cirie. He then added, "Otherwise, I will skin your body and make it into a duvet cover for Boston. I'm not even joking. I will KILL YOU."

All you Terry-Haters really need to get a grip, LOL. If he has an ego, it's because it was DESERVED. Come on, 5 immunity challenges in a row? Plus all the reward challenges? Give me a break. The man is a great player, otherwise he would have been gone weeks ago. No, not the most diplomatic/modest strategist out there, but do you really think it would have helped endear him this much with this retarded dysfunctional tribe? He's had a target on his back from the beginning.

I gotta love Aras' whining, it gets better and better every week. I agree he's an assh*le, and he always has been... remember how he used to talk to Bruce, and then got all stupid once it was possible Bruce would be the swing vote?

And this week, we find out he's a total Mama's boy, too. Listen, I'm not married myself, but if I were, I would totally agree that seeing a spouse over a parent is bigger. How many mid-20 some year old people see their parents every day? (If you do and don't live with them, you may have some family entanglement issues to work through) I can't wait for Terry to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

I'm disappointed that he'll probably have to make up with Danielle next week to do it, but I can't wait to see Cirie get knocked off her fat ass perch as well. :) Any woman who is afraid of leaves and can't even pick up a fish doesn't deserve to win, IMHO, though I admire her ability to scheme. I just think she's rode other people's coattails for too long, and the only way she gets by now is because of luck and the fact that she's not a physical threat. She's not all that hot a strategic, she just got lucky... remember their decision to vote off mullet woman? If they hadn't changed the rules of the game mid-stream, Cirie would have sooo been voted out weeks ago.

Oh, and another thing, B-side... you were wrong about the immunity idol rules. Terry can use them up to the final 3, as he thought.

"She's not all that hot a strategic, she just got lucky... remember their decision to vote off mullet woman? If they hadn't changed the rules of the game mid-stream, Cirie would have sooo been voted out weeks ago."

Agree with some of what you said about Cirie, but remember, Cirie engineered that because SHE was going to be voted out instead. The two other older women played poor strategy, but it was Cirie's only choice (she wouldn't have been able to get one of the other older women voted off instead).

jack, Terry's logic wasn't "feeble" to bring along Shane/Boston. Kid owns all and no one becomes more unhinged when it comes to their loved one than Shane, who could deny him it. Not to mention, you probably don't want to send a kid back to that camp to eat filthy water and grubs. Wound up alright for Cirie too, I think she quite enjoyed showing off her skillz and putting her hubby to work.

Hard to know what to make of the spat with Aras. He was insensitive in how he put it, even if his reasoning was sound. What can you say, Terry's people skills ain't the best, Aras should know that by now. And what the hell, I love my mother tons, and really wouldn't have given a shit if I didn't see her, and I'm sure even the mothers would agree with Terry's "allocation". I think it had to do as much with his sour grapes at losing.

And yet still with the people bitching about Terry's game and insisting he will lose. Whatever. He's got F3 locked up. Not to mention, what looks to be a pretty Terry friendly jury to me.

P.S. B-Side, love the Shane screen caps. Awww, I'm actually quite bummed about Shane getting booted.

Aras wants his mommy!

...and after the horrendous time I had just now trying to sign in to Type Key, so do I.

What's with all the typekey name rip offs?

MTV4Me?
RTV4Me?

I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Terry may be good at the challenges, but that is only one aspect of Survivor. You can bully your way to the final two and still end up $900,000 short of the big prize. It's his attitude and self-righteousness that people hate him.

Go Cirie! But Danielle is taking this one.

This is why this is such a great season. I love how polarizing Terry is. Do you praise the man for being totally kickass in the face of adversity or do you deride him for being completely unable to alter his situation?

I think I really dislike Terry because he's had so many chances to really take total control of this game, but at every impasse, he's let his ego and smug attitude get in the way. Does he deserve to be smug and have an ego after all the challenges he's won. Yes. Is that an admirable quality? Not really.
So I guess my own armchair Dr. Phil diagnosis of my reactions to him is that I'm disappointed and frustrated -- and I've happily channeled that into anger and disdain. Yay!

I live several hundred miles away from my parents. I routinely go longer than a month without seeing them. Of course, I do get to talk to them, and the total lack of contact heightens the experience of being apart during Survivor. But still, I wouldn't fall apart if I didn't get to spend the night visiting with my mom during a one-month tv show taping.

While I think Aras had a point (to a point) in saying that even unmarried people can have deep, important family bonds, Terry also made decent decisions based on the nature of the relationships and the game. There's no chance of Aras being his ally, but after both of them got surprised at the last tribal council, Terry could have hoped that Shane would turn to him for a new alliance. Of course, neither Terry nor Shane went in that direction, as Shane assumed that Cirie and Aras were sticking with him and Terry continued to have no strategy beyond challenge domination.

The Hidden Immunity is still in play up to the Final 4 Tribal Council. So anyone who has it can move into Final 3 if they decide to use it. If the Hidden Immunity is used *before* the Final 4 Tribal Council, the Hidden Immunity would've been rehidden on Exile Island and be up for grabs again.

Shane's kid looks just like Jodie Foster when she was a pre-teen in the mid '70s. See for yourself:

http://www.dreamstarlets.com/features/!bios/jodie_foster22.jpg

Terry will win. He can't be voted out next week because of the immunity idol, and he's a cinch to win the F3 endurance challenge. Thus, he will appear in the F2 with whomever he chooses. He already has the 2 votes of former La Minans, and it's almost certain that whomever he brings with him will have pissed off at least two of the five Casayan jurors.

You may not like it. I don't like it. But Terry will win.

I don't quite get the Terry hate either. He's certainly cocky, but its less an arrogant cocky than a confident cocky. Its already been stated by others here that he has earned some right to have a chip on his shoulder. I think the outwit, outplay, outlast thing is overblown around here. Its already been shown that if you can simply outplay everyone in the challenges that you can win the whole thing (Tom), and if you can outwit everybody while not outplaying anyone in the challenges (Hatch) -- you can win the million. Things are slowly working in Terry's favor on the jury as well, IMO. He may have been a little cocky, but he hasn't really screwed anyone either. That seems to be the one thing in Survivor history that will really swing a vote on the jury from one to another. He has Austin and Sally pretty much locked up. And as long as he doesn't say anything real dumb at the final council (assuming he makes it) I think he has a great chance of getting Shane and Courtney's votes as well considering the way they were snubbed/duped by their tribemates. That's 4 votes at right there and that's all he needs. Even Bruce is 50/50 in my mind. He could end up getting 5! And that is no matter who he would go up against at this point!

Why hasn't anyone told the survivors that Terry already won the car?? danielle isn't aligned with him so I think she'd have used that last week to keep everyone anti-Terry!!

I have to say, I agree with Jack, and many others on this board, b-side. While I don't looove Terry, and I've been annoyed by many of his tactics, I think he played the love-allocation just right. He took Shane (who was, at this point, probably his only possible choice for a Final Two). And Aras is so self-righteous. Whenever things don't go his way, he gets so snide and derrogatory towards his target. He's done this with Bruce, Danielle, and pretty much everyone else out there but Shane (who he's scared of) and Cirie (who's his biggest ally).
As for the jury, Terry's looking better all the time. He's already got Austin & Sally's vote. Bruce may very well vote for him out of respect for surviving against all odds. And Courtney & Shane have both been stabbed in the back by thier Casayalliance.
Altho, I don't know if Shane will take it as personally in the long run as he's acting.
I think Cirie has an uphill battle getting to the F2. She will probably win if she gets there.
I see a Danielle/Terry F2, with a Terry win.

i was going to suggest tatum o'neal from her bad news bears days, but it's definitely jodie.

According to the CBS episode recaps, Terry can use the immunity idol through the final four, so he's definitely going to be in the final 3!!! I hate Terry, but I think he might just win this thing.

I never hated Terry until last night, really. I mean, good for him winning all of the challenges, but he proves time and time again that he sucks at strategy. Which makes sense, because when you're the type of person who feels so much smarter and more superior to those you're playing with, you're never going to win them over enough to trust you. The wife v. mother thing sent me over the edge into Terry hate. Mocking people who love their moms? Lame. And arrogant. And god I hope that immunity idol is worthless now. If Terry makes it to the final two, I hate to say it, but he'd probably deserve to win. But that doesn't mean I'd want him to. Go Cirie!!!

well, i'm glad shane's off, only because it now means that the two strongest players (terry and aras) will probably be final two. can't vote for terry next (he's got the idol), and aras and cerie will stick together, so danielle is off. when it's down to final three, aras and terry will beat cerie no matter what the challenge is. your final two is aras and terry, and terry will get more votes, just because he's probably the strongest contestant to ever play the game. who needs strategy when you keep winning?

Shoe-In (#11): I caught the Jodie vibe, too.

Doesn't Shane have any other relatives? The kid came to the island, and was also the only person in the all-telling Febreeze Moment.

I really don't get the Terry hate either. I find him rather intriguing and his ability to play dirty (dumb) puts him in at the same level as the Cire/Aras team. I have a feeling that Terry will end up with either Cire or Aras in the F2 as they will do their best to backstab Danielle by voting her off. I think he will end up with more allies on the jury than enemies.

Terry is definitely going to fight for immunity this week. If he wins it, he not only is safe but controls the final three since he can give away his idol. He can give it to Danielle and guarantee Aras goes home with his and Danielle's votes. Then all they have to do is beat Ciree in the endurance challenge.

Cirie and Aras must be hoping that when it comes down to it, Casaya loyalty will win out over Terry if he's in the final 2. It really could go either way--Courtney and Shane are typical of the "bitterness voters" we've seen in past seasons who might vote for Terry just to avoid voting for someone who they feel betrayed them. But they've also disliked Terry and been annoyed by him, so there's always a chance that in the end they will vote for another former Casayan anyway.

Great recap, B-Side- even if I don't agree with your Terry hating. I understand that you're frustrated that he hasn't been good at the outwit part and it has turned to disdain (good analyzing by the way) but when has any survivor winner been good at both? They either dominate physically or mentally or have a perfect alliance. I'm rooting for Terry because he is outlasting the best way he can. Look at the odds, especially considering his age over Aras. I don't see that he's been all that cocky. If you Terry haters want to see cocky, go back to Boston Rob or the first survivor and Hatch. Now that was a cocky son of a bitch. Of course I was rooting for him, as well, so maybe I like cocky but then I hated Rob so... Anyway I also agree with Terry's allocation of the love. If Aras had screwed Terry at tribal council than he would have gone to exile island without a hug. Sorry people but spouses and kids trump Moms, Dads, best friends, etc. Especially if the survivor is a potential rival or backstabber. I hope Terry makes it to the final two and wins but my hopes in Survivor don't always come true. We must wait and see.

Terry can use the hidden idol in the final four. If he wins the next immunity challenge. He'll be able to give the hidden immunity to someone else. Thus determing 2 of the final 3.

I like Terry. Yeah it was pretty dicky of him the way he was saying that his wife was more important than their mother, but oh well.
With the way they've treated him this entire time. The way they've acted SO smug and like they're kinds and queens of the island. I think Terry has every right to be as cocky as he wants.
I have no idea if he can use his idol again, I hope so. If he wins immunity, that little idol COULD be his ticket to getting to final 2.

I can't wait for the jury questions with Courtney and Shane!! Biggest chance of pissed off nut-job rants we've seen in a long time!!

First time poster so: hi there, really funny stuff.

I’m a mild Terry supporter, but I can see why some might hate him. I feel, in these shows, that there is always a sliding scale on the uber-competent middle age males, where they can either come off as incredibly self righteous and overbearing (like that bald fireman on Big Brother) and get very little public love, or as gracious and together (like Survivor Mike who fell in the fire) and be well liked, or any point in between. I actually like Terry more than Survivor winner Tom, but mostly because Terry wasn’t forced to play head games with a tribemate who was decompensating worse than Amanda Plumber in Pulp Fiction (Ian) in order to win (Ian threw away the game in that “Honey Bunny” moment). However, I think this all depends on any one person’s given tolerance for alpha males, and on your age. I would really like to see a poll on the average age of Terry lovers and haters… I think there would be at least 15 years gap in the average. But, for me, bridgeguy said it best in that he’s more confident cocky than arrogant cocky, and I can forgive the fact that he just doesn’t know how to put things sometimes… like with the wives before mom’s discussion.

What I don’t understand, though, is why there is not more Aras hate. He is the very picture of a guy, probably very likable at home, punking out over having his sense of absolute superiority punctured by not being able to “teach a lesson” to the guy making him look bad. Aras seems good looking, smart, and athletic, and is probably well adjusted at home, but you can see in his face that he just can’t understand how he might not be the best at something, and his composure is cracking. There is an element of entitlement denied that I haven’t commented on. And, lets face it, Terry was right about the “love” choices, but saying wives beat mom’s just wasn’t the right way to put it. If you are in your mid twenties and you can’t spend one month away from your mom, something is wrong with you. If you are married and you can easily spend a month away from your wife and kids, something is also likely wrong. I would also like to see age data on Aras supporters and haters.

I love Cirie too, but does anyone else fell like she might be a little tainted? Swearing with Shane on the lives of children, and going back on your word is somehow is vaguely worse than doing the same thing with a fully mentally capable person, and is kind of icky. BUT she has shown real control in the final stretch, after seeming to float under the radar for most of the game (nice change in direction) – I mean, getting Courney out really served only her ends, and didn’t actually help anyone else, but she got everybody to go along.

For me it’s either Terry or Cirie, and I’d like to see these two in the final. I agree with those that say that Terry could win against Aras or Danielle in the final 2 because Shane was sent off in almost the optimal way to get him to vote for Terry (Terry letting him spend time with son followed by steps towards an alliance followed by his entire tribe stabbing him in the back), and Courtney not only resents the tribe but (crazyness of crazy) listens to Shane. However, this assumes Shane remembers and processes facts as normal humans do, which has been shown to be an erroneous assumption.

Todd

The very best thing to happen now is for Danielle to make her move and align with Terry. Terry finally agrees to throw the next immunity challenge and let Danielle win it (assuming she beats Aras). She is immune and he has the individual immunity idol. Now all they have to do is vote off Aras. Let Cirie and Aras vote for Terry. He whips out the individual idol and Aras goes home. As soon as Cirie goes down in the final endurance challenge, Terry and Danielle let go and vote Cirie off. There's your final two folks.

P.S. - Danielle is taking this thing.

Terry may be cocky, but he delivers, doesn't he?

I believe it was the great poet/philosopher K. Rock who said, "They say I'm cocky, but I say, 'what?', it ain't cocky, mf'er, if you back it up".

Also, I thought Terry's wife was pretty hot for a late fortysomething housewife.

"I can totally empathize with a father's emotions upon reuniting with his son (I always get choked up when I stumble across one of the many bastard children I've spawned across America),"

OK, this has to be one of my favorite B-Side lines ever.

And I'm with B-Side 100% on the Terry hate. I didn't like him before but now I completely hate him. I laugh at his smug face whenever one of his lame "strategies" falls apart.

Are you kidding me Cantstandya? The only way that Terry's wife could be described as hot would be if her dead carcass was sliding thorugh a crematorium. I actually thought Terry was too good for her. She looked like Felicity Huffman in TRANSAMERICA.

I'd find it easier to like Aras if

a. His name wasn't Sara spelled backwards
b. He'd admit that spending the night with your wife is a little more significant than spending the night with your mother...except in certain parts of southeastern U.S.A.
c. He'd ever do anything in a challenge to disrupt Terry's God Complex.

ClariceStarling - "dead carcass was sliding thorugh a crematorium"? Really? Whatever turns you on. :-)

TMI on the Terry having sex with his wife-ew. If Danielle joins an alliance with Terry next week, then she wil be the next to be voted off, because everyone who joins his alliance immediately gets voted off-ha! Go Cirie!

I am still cheering for Cirie with all my heart but damn it, based on the previews for next week (Danielle aligning with Terry), D & T are gonna be Final 2 in my opinion. Cirie is just too lovable (her hubby H.B. was awesome too). I bet Shane's not even angry with her even though she's the one who arranged his ouster. A good indicator of that is Shane got in Danielle & Aras's face for the 'chocolate bar in 1 minute' line. Not Cirie & Aras. Cirie would more than likely still get Shane's vote if she ends up in the final 2.

And about Terry, ugh. I don't hate him but I don't like him, I do NOT want him to win and I don't think he's had to overcome many adversities to deserve a freaking million dollar on a PEOPLE INTERACTION game show. He had the hidden immunity idol in his bag since what, day 12 or something, and no one on Casaya was or is a physical threat. And even with that security in his bag, he couldn't manage to get along and try to create a bond with the other people in Gitanos. He offered shit deals and left it at that. Or he disrespected the other tribemates. And he wonders why he keeps failing in strategy and continues to be lied to?

I could care less about Aras too but the way I interpreted what he said was there is no need to compare 'YOUR WIFE' to 'SOMEONE ELSE's MOM'. I found Terry just rude to even go there. Danielle missed her family just as much as Terry missed his family so the way he just downplayed it like 'No, MY family is more important than HERS, she's just 24.' WTF man! Loved ones are loved ones. Some care more about their spouse than their parents, some it's the opposite, some care about their pets more than parents or spouse, and some are just alone and lonely. Just respect that! Can't wait for Cirie to tell him off.

*B-Side, loved the recap. Thanks! :)

If Terry wins immunity next week, he's going to be in a good position to buy a vote by giving the hidden immunity idol to someone. But I doubt he's smart enough to think of something like that.

Mangos (#55);

I think if Terry wins regular immunity, he'll give his idol to Danielle like he offered a few weeks ago. Making D & T the most probable final 2.

The final four players are from the four different starting tribes. That is a little odd.

Also, Cirie never gave up her kids, she just mumbled and when shane gave up Boston, she went with that.

If Cirie goes to the final four against anyone, she is golden. She will play the I'm-doing-this-for-my-kids plus she actually plotted and played the game.

For whatever reason, I found this "family" challenge soooo sad, I was bawlin' all over . . . perhaps, as a child, I too was chubby, in a boyish pre-pubescent way, and had longish un styled hair, just like Boston, and though I've never liked shane, I guess the whole concept of how much he adores that kid makes me, "sniff" ohhh, I shouldn't discuss it!

I've got some love to allocate to you B-side, fantastic re-cap, I love the Terry loathing (why I enjoy the hating so . . . )
and "You love your mother, don't you!!! Don't you!!!" F***ing classic!!!

I hate that my job is keeping me from all my favorite bloggers, but I keep reading, thanks to all for the laughs!

Most excellent recap.

Carol (#57), Shane was actually also on the older men's tribe--remember, he was kind of insulted?

I personally am not fond of Terry, but I don't hate him. He IS cocky, but as some have said before, it's not like the Casayans were ever exactly friendly. He just has no people skills, and unlike Tom he doesn't know WHEN TO STOP TALKING. Tom was not just an immunity monster--he also had the charisma to get people to do what he wanted, even if it was to their detriment. I don't want to see him win, but of the people who have a chance (sorry, Cirie) he's the least of the evils in my opinion.

I've always thought Aras was a big hypocrite, getting pissed off at people for doing things he's done himself. Frankly, I dig watching Terry continue to beat him. "Denied entitlement" indeed.

Danielle just annoys me. I don't know why.

Most of all, I will miss Shane. Yes, he was totally insane, but his lack of mind-to-mouth filter was refreshing. I think he was much much smarter than everyone gives him credit for--after all, he lasted to the final five, despite the fact that he had yelled at/insulted every single person he came into contact with.

I just don't know if I can be interested in watching this show after Cirie goes...except of course for the final tribal and reunion, which I hope will be full of bitterness and yelling.

Also, someone may have said, I'm only half way through reading, but I think Jeffy would have been sure to collect the dud hidden immunity idol if it had hit experation. Terry can throw the immunity and pick who he wants to go, perhaps, but I can't see him blowing the chance to be king pin survivor stud of the world and win them all!

Props to Cirie, how great of her to rise so steathily into such a delicious, deceptive leading position!!!

oh, clarice! Spare us nothing girl!!! Just love the hating, but I thought his wife was just right for him. I'd probably have taken Cirie to the hotel, as two couples they may have had a better chance to relax--nothing against little Jodie (never thought I looked like her as a boy--ugh!) but he's still a kid, hanging with the adults.

"I can totally empathize with a father's emotions upon reuniting with his son (I always get choked up when I stumble across one of the many bastard children I've spawned across America),"

I totally agree whoislain!!! Great show, great recapp and and great comments, I've been chuckling my way through my last hour!

Shane's kid looks EXACTLY like Jodi Foster as a child. Shane is from L.A. and is in the entertainment industry, right? Jodie Foster lives in L.A., yes?

This is gonna be really bad for Jodi's career. But man, that chick attracts lunatics like flies.

Terry is the king,, I love watching him crush the others in the challenges,,oprah cerie,does nothing &if she makes it to the 3,noway she holds up in any endurence challenge.aras is a whiney ass,,,& danielle has screwed over 2 many ..GOOOOOO TERRY KING OF SURVIVOR.

Add me to the Terry fans. One of the most brilliant and admirable players to play the game in several seasons. I can't figure out the Terry-hate around here...other boards/sites are full of Terry love. The only other player that I might could actually stomach winning is Cirie...but even that would be a hard one to swallow.

Thanks B-Side for a hee-larious and timely recap, you rock!
Did Shane ever thank Terry for his "allocation" of Jodie, oops I mean Boston love? If he did, I missed it. Maybe he sent him a text message on his blackberry.
Also, is it just me or does Sally look like a completely different person? I know she's cleaned up and all, but I barely recognized her this week.

I'm still on the Terry-hate wagon. As I've said before, his attitude may be considered normal for a man in his occupation, but we're watching a reality TV show here people not a Navy pilot training video. I was one of those who thought that he could only use the idol up TO the final four, but considering that Probst didn't say antything I think it's still good for one more. I still can hope that my girl Cirie makes it to F2, although even crazy Shane pointed out how well-liked she is/unbeatable to take to the final two.

to answer your q B-side: the finale on Sunday 5/14 would have to be a final 3 one since they are showing a new episode this Thursday. Maybe it will just be a shorter finale, or maybe there will be a HUGE twist on the next episode and no one will get voted out at TC until the finale airs. That would be cool!

Tony- if you love Terry so much, why don't you just marry him? I'm sure he's cocky/confident enough to handle two wives, and that would put you at the top of his "important" relatives list.

Thoughts of the jury voting for the finals....

Shane - Will vote for Terry if he's up against any of the three remaining Casaya, they betrayed him, and Terry won his vote with the Boston reunion. Will only vote for Aras if he's up against Danielle and/or Cirie. Danielle only gets his vote against Cirie, as Cirie was the cruelest cut of them all.
Courtney-Will vote for Aras if he's against either of the remaining three because he's a beautiful brother. Will vote for Terry if he's up against either of the girls. Will not vote for Danielle over Cirie, unless Cirie says something stupid.
Bruce-Will vote for Terry against either of the three, due to the mutual respect bond. Will vote for Cirie over A & D and possibly Terry only if is she's sappy enough, and he says something stupid.
A over D because D was lazy in camp.
La Mina woman(who's name escapes me)-Terry out of loyalty over everyone. C over the other two. Possible D over A just because Terry persuades her to do so. Was it Sally?
Austin-T over everyone again due to loyalty, unless he grew John Grisham's brain and calls out T for not using the idol on Nick and forcing out Aras back then to even the numbers. D over A and C because they shared that special night. C over A because again T may influence that vote.
Aras-C over D and T, unless C screws him royally. D over T out of pure hate.
Terry- C over A & D because they are both young and stupid. D over A because he hates A and his mom more now than D.
Danielle-C again, as long as she doesn't screw her, over A and T. A over T for denying the mom hug, and if A doesn't screw her badly enough.
Cirie-A over everyone if he doesn't screw her. D over T because we Jersey people are haters on those who are better than us at anything and brag about it.
Sleep-Over me because this required way too much thought.

Terry rules. I love watching the 47 year-old make all these kids 20 years younger than him his bitches (yes, especially you Arashole). IF Terry is smart, he will the next immunity and give it to Danielle, use the hidden idol for himself. Of the remaining four, any of them can beat useless Danielle in a final two. Other than a great rack the girl hasn't done a single impressive thing this whole season.

Ugh... I am disgusted with knowing that other forums are full of Terry-Love. Wassup with that????

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Terry equals douchebag.

When some of these kiddo commentators reach age 40, they'll appreciate Terry's physical prowess. Dude is downright f&*cking awesome. Right now, the comments kind've stink of ageism, but that's typical of blog readers and a flaming comment about them to boot. So ignore it, although it has been launched from a statistically unlikely older blog reader -- or if you prefer, an outlier, as the statisticians like to call us. Anyway, I find the rest of the crew other than Terry much more annoying than him, if only because they appear to think that because they are younger they can take him down when they choose--despite all evidence to the contrary. Too busy eating cheeseburgers I guess. Yeah, he's got a big mouth, but who cares -- actions speak louder than words. I'll take Terry's ego over the sanctimoniousness of the rest of the Survivors anyday, who are only there because they have the pre-merge numbers. And Aras was only pissed because he got called on a fact of life - wives and children are more important than mothers, although granted, it's such an obvious thing Terry is an idiot for even saying it. But Aras is an idiot for taking a stupid person's ravings so seriously. Great recap B-Side. Amazing that you do overthink this thing -- most of us don't care to be challenged that much. TGIF someone is doing the scheming for us.

This is so annoying. Everyone IS impressed with Terry's ability to win challenges. It is amazing at any age. However, he doesn't even remotely qualify as "brilliant" or any of the other glowing adjectives assigned to him. He is rocking the challenges. It is awesome. That's it. Otherwise he has played with, ahem, questionable competency and zero scruples. I only started to semi-root for him after he let his ENTIRE tribe be picked off. He deserves a certain amount of respect or awe because of his domination in challenges. He could win. And that's fine with me. But I won't agree about him being "the smartest player" or "best Survivor ever". He definitely garners a love-hate vibe, if that. That's why I remarked earlier that he was one of the best/worst Survivors ever. I would call him a douchebag, but it's been done. Suffice it to say he'd be interesting at a cocktail party for about one minute. After that I'd be yawning and rolling my eyes.

well said LQ. Let me make one more point that Terry doesn't even qualify to be compared with Tom. Yes- they both dominated the challenges, but that's it! Tom was willing to honor his alliance with Ian until the end, he wasn't looking to take Katie to the finals b/c he knew he could beat her. Ian made that choice for him when he pussed out in the last challenge. Plus, Tom was well-liked in camp (like Cirie). Everyone really respected him and looked up to him. That's why he won by such a huge margin. Plus- dude killed a shark with a machete and provided his tribe with meat for days! He had the advantage of being a NYC firefighter in a post 9-11 world, but he earned the respect of his tribe for more than just his physical prowess. Big difference between him and the flyboy.

zoobabe, I'll totally give you that one. Terry is no Tom. Tom was a well rounded player. Well liked, respected leader, physically dominant (although significantly older than many of his competitors), strategic. However, what Terry has done this season is still very impressive, and not only that but everyone else has been completely unimpressive. Ergo, Terry deserves to win. I think the jury will be big enough to respect what he's been able to do and get past their own jealousy over having their asses handed to them by a guy twice their age and give him the $.

If you look at Cirie's Bio on the CBS site, it says that she is "recently married" to a man named Clarencio, so does that mean that since the show taped she divorced H.B. and already married some other dude?
If so, impressive.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor12/survivors/bio_cirie.shtml

Shane's "Boston" tattoo was absolutely disgusting.

Surprisingly, Boston Powers seems to be a normal kid. Isn't schizophrenia supposed to be hereditary? How sure is Shane that he is the real father? Someone please call Maury Povich.

I like Terry. I think his cockiness is less about ego and more about playing a head game. He knows they are just itching to get rid of him so he's rubbing it in. The Casayas have treated his entire tribe like they don't have a right to be there, so I can see why he would enjoy flaunting the fact that he is still there. Good for him.

Terry definitely lacks any finesse for strategizing blah blah blah. So.

Don't think he'd have done any better than where he is now, aside from keeping some La Minans around a bit longer. Whatever works, works. And so far this seems to be working rather well.

Besides there's been other strategizing going on, and the generally amusing presence of Shane and Cirie to keep us entertained. Doesn't bother me if Terry keeps winning all the challenges. And ffs, unlike the "hold" your own weight" challenge there was no reason someone else couldn't have won the last one. Or maybe the one where they all decided they'd rather eat burgers instead.

In any case, if it all backfires, then he's the one who suffers the consequences. So I guess I don't see the point in insisting how stupid he is strategically. Just wait and see. And if he does lose than everyone who hates Terry can enjoy it and gloat and say they were right. In which case, y'all should be cheering him on and be happy whenever he does or says something stupid.

So Terry "deserves" to win because he's great in the challenges? Well then, for future seasons the physically inferior might as well just stay home.
Survivor is about more than just winning challenges, as a few previous season winners have shown (hi, Sandra).
Terry is doing almost nothing to endear himself to the majority of the jury, though he might luck out with Shane after the last reward. Boston Rob won a lot of challenges, but his attitude cost him the million (technically). Heck, even in Season 1 Kelly kept winning immunity to get herself to the end, but it was Hatch that won due to superior overall gameplay.
So Terry has beaten all odds to get as far as he has. And Cirie hasn't? She was the obvious choice to be the first one voted out this season, but she managed to stay. She was going to be the next one out after Miranda, but she managed to stay. She's been playing the smartest game this season. Terry lucked out into having no physical threats.
That said, as much as I'd love to see Terry go, I could handle seeing him against Cirie in the final two.

#75 Molly,

I'm pretty sure H.B. stands for "Honey Bunny" and is not Cirie's husband's real name.. so it's probably the same guy.

realitylover (#80)
I think you are right -HoneyBunny is not my real name either...

hb

#79, ditto Cirie lucked into Bobby self-destructing and becoming an obvious target, and Casaya going on the winning streak that gave them the merge advantage.

I'll give her credit for whatever deal she's got going on with Danielle and Aras. But that's what I'm saying. Terry's beat odds AND Cirie's beat odds. I'd also point out that the other people you mention were seen as backstabbers, which Terry mostly isn't (maybe Caspernaut has a grudge, but someone had to go and he's the one who effed up). I'm not saying Terry deserves anything, just that in the end the jury decides who gets the million. So everyone just needs to chill out and let the chips fall where they may.

What I've always thought of this game is that Survivor is 5% physical talent, 5% social Machiavellianism, and 90% luck. The reason people are getting so pissed at Terry is because his physical talent have taken the other factors out of the game, and he doesn't HAVE to be all that sneaky about the plotting part. The others have mostly gotten by on luck, IMHO, though Cirie has a good idea of big picture Machiavellianism, and while I like that, I still can't stomach a girl who's that afraid of leaves winning. I gotta give her props for getting as far as she has.

JasonR: Made a great point about strategy, that Terry should win the next immunity, and give his idol to Danielle in exchange for a pact. If they are final 2, that would shape up the Jury votes:

Austin: Gotta be Terry

Sally: Gotta be Terry

Bruce: He was never a big fan of Danielle, and seemed to respect Terry, I think he'd go with Terry

Courtney: I think she'd be pissed off enough at the betrayel that she'd vote Terry over Danielle (possible swing)

Shane: If any guy's bitter enough to hold a grudge, this is it... plus, he seemed to really dislike Danielle on a personal level; though he was always a bit of a wild card, I think he'd go with Terry

This isn't counting the other 4, that would probably be loyal to the old tribe, but who knows what backstabbing in the 11th hour will do to them. So that gives him his 5 votes that he'd need. Go Terry!

BTW, to all the Terry haters that say he doesn't "deserve" to win... there's a reason Survivor puts in immunity challenges. Like it or not, this is just another piece of the puzzle; as someone else said, whatever gets you there.

Everyone hates the guy in first place, but I'll bet that guy doesn't get bothered much by it. So quit the sour grapes whining and just enjoy the show. :)

When I was watching, I didn't hear them say HB was Cirie's husband, I thought it was her SON... He looked young enough! Then I got totally grossed out when they were slurping on each other. LOL--that's what I get for watching Survivor with my kids, I only hear half of it.

Are Austin and Sally really a lock? Didn't Terry promise each of them that he would use his mini-idol to save them - only to keep it firmly clutched in his pocket? I might hold a bit of a grudge over that.

As for Shane hating Cirie - he was on the Early Show the other morning and seemed to have nothing but love for her, oh and he explained why he was away from the camp when Cirie allegedly wanted to talk to him before last week's tribal council:

HARRY: Well, we're down to the final four. On Survivor: Exile Island last night, Terry won his fifth straight immunity challenge, leaving Shane, the man viewers love to hate (mumbles "I don't know") holding the torch.

(video package)

HARRY: Shane, the look on your face last night was absolutely priceless. You had no idea.

SHANE: I had no idea. I know the game and I knew there was a possibility, but I had made my bed, I had boxed myself in with Aras and Cirie, obviously. I thought we'd hold firm.

(Harry cackles)

HARRY: Really? Are you kidding me? Cirie's really pulling some strings out there.

SHANE: It's been amazing for me to watch Cirie's journey on the show, because when she got there she had no chance of winning, and it actually exuded out of her. She laid low, she worked hard, Aras and I sort of looked out for her. A couple weeks ago you could really tell something switched in her, and she was like, "I can win this." It's been really amazing to watch her journey.

HARRY: Yeah, really phenomenal. You know what, I looked back on the last week and you were surprised last week too.

SHANE: I was surprised because Danielle was supposed to go, and then...

HARRY: Yeah, Danielle is always supposed to go, and she's still standing.

SHANE: There was a bit of a flip-flop. I had created sort of a house away from everyone else called the Summer House, up on the ridge, that was allowed to go to.

HARRY: Did it have your make-believe Blackberry up there?

SHANE: It had everything up there, and no one was allowed to go up there, actually. I came down late and was not really in the loop, which was better for them, because I wasn't around that last 5 days much.

HARRY: One of the great moments maybe in the history of Survivor is the challenge last night where you got the opportunity to spend time with your son. And you know what, we have a Secret Scene that was not on the show last night. I'm gonna go ahead and show that now because you and your son, it's beautiful, it's really beautiful to watch.

[SHANE (solo; choked up): Watching the sun come up this morning, drinking my espresso, but then knowing my son was near, ready to wake up, come to me. It was unbelievable. It was like I wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else on the planet at all. I wanted to be right there.

(Boston and Shane lay on the couch)

BOSTON: I'm so proud of you.

SHANE: I'm going to try so hard.

BOSTON (solo): The biggest flaw that would go wrong is that he has an alliance with three other people; if they turn on him, he's gone.]

HARRY: Your son was prophetic. What a thing, to have your son's name tattooed on your chest, to watch you through this whole thing. That was the only thing other than cigarettes it seemed to me that you really yearned for, that you really missed. What did it mean for you last night to be able to have that reunion when you were out there?

SHANE: Well, you know, going through the depletion and having the 30 days of whatever, and then just feeling so wrecked, and having him show up and actually getting to be with him, it was sort of an experience that I would not have had on any other terms, on any other level. The love that I felt and the togetherness we had was really amazing.

HARRY: Now that you're back home and life is sort of back to normal, have the dynamics of your relationship changed, or you just value him that much more?

SHANE: I think you get an amazing amount of perspective from being on the show. It's like you're civilized and then they turn you into a caveman, and you learn how to deal with that, and then suddenly everything that's important to you is right in front of you. It just reinforced the way that me and -- the one thing I do want to say is me and Boston have this amazing relationship, but if it wasn't for his mother, Bird (?), allowing us to play -- she's been a real cornerstone of both our relationships and I can't thank God enough for her.

HARRY: Going back to the beginning of the show, you were flipped out from the second you got there. How many packs of cigarettes do you smoke a day?

SHANE: I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day. I had never tried to quit.

HARRY: So you went cold turkey, you were out there on the show, and the people were literally begging you to stay. I don't remember ever seeing that on the show, where somebody who wanted to leave, people were begging you to stay. I thought that was counterintuitive, but you ended up being such a great asset.

SHANE: Well, I think that when we first got on an island, the four of us we connected immediately, they were very - they wanted me to stay badly because we had had a safe, the four of us were gonna stay safe at least up until the merge, so it was very important for them that I stayed. I was schizophrenic at that point, I had not had a cigarette in six days, no water - the one thing you need to come off cigarettes is water - and I was literally going out of my mind.

HARRY: Well, for us as an audience and fans of Survivor, we really loved watching you go crazy.

SHANE: I'm sure you did.

HARRY: Every single second of it.

SHANE: I'm sure you did.

HARRY: Got any cigarettes in there now?

SHANE: I have plenty of cigarettes. Would you like one now?

HARRY (laughs): No, no, we gotta go. Thanks buddy.

SHANE: Pleasure.

HARRY: Great to be with you.

The reason I would like to see Cirie win is exactly because she WAS afraid of leaves and squeamish about outdoorsy stuff.

It takes a helluva lot more guts and heart to take yourself out of your comfort zone into a totally alien environment like Cirie did than to win a bunch of silly games which Terry has been doing for eons in the military.

Go Cirie!

Terry can kiss Aras's mom.

chronic (# 82), i think the point for a lot of us (me anyway) is that, had terry been a little more flexible and creative as a strategist, he could have been the ultimate survivor and have won handily.

we saw a similarly dominant player in tom westman, who won most of the immunities but made some shrewd strategic moves when he was exposed. BUT tom had the huge advantages of leading the most dominant team ever, having a jury made up almost entirely of friends, and the best final 2 partner imaginable. terry's in almost the opposite position, and i would have loved to have seen him make stronger strategic moves and win over a few more of the casayans. he irks me because he had several chances to do this, and several times his teammates/allies pointed out these opportunities (especially dan), and terry bullheadedly ignored them and kept thinking that if he made the final 2, the casayans would HAVE to acknowledge that he'd played the best game and give him the win.

but that's not the kind of people he's dealing with, and his lack of experience with anti-authoritarian slacker-types really shows. this is most obvious in his tense relationship with aras. as a former commanding officer, it's been a long time since terry's had to deal with a much younger person who wasn't required by rank to take his orders and agree with everything he says. terry doesn't seem to know how to handle people outside of a 'chain of command' type situation.

similarly, his strategic flaws have been a consequence of inflexibility that, ironically, can also be attributed to military training. making dispassionate snap-judgments under pressure and sticking to them is a virtue in the military, where broken promises and hurt feelings are irrelevant to completing the objective. but in survivor, that kind of thinking is likely to backfire, as it has for terry, several times.

i'm mostly mad at him because, unless cirie makes the finals--unlikely, IMO, 'cause she'll never win an endurance immunity and no one would take her to the finals over one of the others--i will have to watch terry, who i admire, despite his shortcomings, lose to danielle or aras, both of whom i consider spoiled, irritating, smug brats who have survived by the dumb luck of making an early alliance and reaching the merge with a majority, largely due to team challenge wins orchestrated by other players.

Okay, first of all: I am SO TIRED of that "machete slash in the air" sound effect that seems to play at least twenty times per episode, whenever anything "voting off" related is mentioned. I don't know if I'm explaining it right. But it drives me crazy. The only good I can see coming out of that sound is it would be an excellent addition to a Survivor drinking game.

As said before, Terry annoys the hell out of me not only because he hasn't outwitted, but especially because I think he thinks that he has. All he did was show off his idol to a bunch of people. (Freud would really have a field day with that one) What gets me is the fact that he couldn't see past his need to win everything, and messed up every chance at scheming that he had. Plus, I am just the sort of person that always roots for the underdog, and I would so much rather watch a good scheme go down than a boring challenge that I don't even try to understand anymore.

Terry really pissed me off with the "only a mom" comment. I think we all understand why a wife is "more important" to someone than a mom. But guess what, Aras didn't have a wife, so he doesn't have the "luxury" like Terry does of having a more important family member. Terry just shouldn't have said it the way he did. I think the reason people flip out so much over seeing their parents is because they're all hungry and tired and annoyed and their emotions are heightened. I think I would probably cry at seeing someone that I could absolutely be sure wouldn't vote me out. (At least I would hope my mom wouldn't want to vote me out)

I was so excited for Terry to try to use the idol and have it be expired at the final 4, but then I watched the first episode and it goes through the 4. Dammit!

Did anyone notice the CBS commercials this week? Once again they show you tribal council and the show who has the immunity necklace on.