Survivor Review

Ok, I'm gonna put the blues away for a while and replace them with red-hot frustration for this entry.

Anyone follows Survivor Panama?

Gosh, do I have a beef with Terry or what!

I usually keep my thoughts to myself when it comes to reality-TV programs.

I sobbed like a child berated when Brandon Bellinger and Gary Hogeboom got booted off Survivor Guatemala last season.

I wept a silent tear when Patrick Hall was first of 24 to leave American Idol.

I bashed my head in and ripped my hair off when Meredith and Gretchen got eliminated on The Amazing Race Season 7.

You get my drift.

Still I kept my silence.

But now.

Never have I felt THIS compelled to write about something I saw on TV.

WHAT THE HELL IS TERRY DOING?

I don't know what he is thinking. In fact, I don't even know if he is thinking.

1) Why did he tell the ex La Minians and Danielle about the immunity idol at this point (episode where Austin got voted off)? Pretty pointless eh?

• If he had wanted to let anyone know about the immunity idol, he should have done it last week. Strategising with the immunity idol works better when you have more numbers on your side, don't you think? Why wait till he's lost Nick?
• Terry should've used the immunity idol to save Nick last week (since he's got the immunity necklace for himself already), ergo booting out Shane (although I personally love Shane but since I'm supposed to be Terry now so....).
• If Shane is out, the gap closes and Terry'd only need to flip one person from Casaya. Shane is one of the stronger key players on the other team. Without him, it's easy to flop anyone.
• Booting Shane out also means that Nick would get on the jury (and Shane wouldn't). This surely would do Terry good, long-term. Especially since Terry used his immunity idol to save Nick. That's gonna score points with Nick as a jury member.
• Terry's gotta remember the immunity idol only works once and he can't save himself with it every week. He should think ahead and keep numbers.

2) Why does Terry think it's easier to flip two people than one?

• As mentioned, if Terry had used his immunity idol to save Nick last week, he would've lost the idol but maintained numbers. It'd be 4-5 in favor of Casaya but one of their 'leaders', Shane, would be gone. Flipping people becomes easier. Need only flip one.
• No point in Terry using his immunity idol now to save Austin. He should've done it when the numbers are still not that down on his side.

3) Why would Terry think anyone would flop to his side based on his stupid logic?

• Unless Terry thinks Bruce and Danielle have mashed potatoes for brains, surely he knows it wouldn't work.
• So his game plan is to convince Bruce and Danielle that they are at the bottom in Casaya's pecking order, and? If Bruce and Danielle were to flop based on this logic that they're next on the chopping block, then they must be darn stupid (and they've proven they're not).
• If Bruce and Danielle flopped, not only would they STILL be last in La Mina's pecking order, they would in fact be last in a team with a strong alliance!
• Bruce and Danielle did the right thing by staying with Casaya. Given Casaya's volatile composition, it's anybody's game on that side. Flop to La Mina and they'd be guaranteed a space on the chopping block the next two weeks.
• It would make more sense for Terry, in order to flop someone, to give a deluded picture of them having fair play in La Mina, which is already not possible because everyone knows how strong their alliance is.

4) Why didn't Terry think far enough to place Nick on the jury?

• Who the hell knows? Instead of trying so hard to trade off his idol for numbers now that Nick is gone and Shane potentially on the jury, he should've done so the previous week and get Shane off. This way, Nick would be on the jury, to Terry's advantage, whether or not Nick leaves next. Shane would then not be on the jury.
• Terry kept the idol but possibly lost a jury member. Stupid. The idol can only help him so much.

In conclusion, Terry made a fatal mistake in not giving up his immunity idol to Nick, keeping the gap closer. Because of this mistake, he should play on for himself now and not try to get numbers. The week of the merge was the best time to play numbers but it's useless now, having lost Nick.

Terry should now try to win immunity every week (which he's shown is possible) and hang on to the immunity idol for as long as is needed to keep him in the final four. So, I couldn't understand why he'd wanna trade his immunity idol this week for one more person to come over to his side. Or even to reveal he has the idol. Stupid stupid game move!

Bruce and Danielle should stick to Casaya, last in pecking order or not. This is the surest bet. Stay with Casaya and create discord amongst the volatile 'top four' or go to La Mina and be kicked out the next two weeks. There is NO WAY Bruce and Danielle could've broken the strong alliance in La Mina. More chances with breaking up the top four in Casaya.

So yes, Bruce and Danielle used a tad more of their gray matter than Terry did.

For the record, I am rooting for Bruce and Shane. I don't know why but I kinda like Shane even though everyone hates him. He reminds me a bit of myself. Just a BIT.

I hope Aras gets the crap out of the game or at least get crab. Hahaha. Ok, that was lame.

I hate Aras. I thought I couldn't find anyone I hated more than Courtney but Aras proved that anything can happen!

Just for anything's sake, I'm going to give my views on each one.

Shane: I like him. He is frank and brutally so but hey this is a game, not a pageant. Yes, he got pissed off alot but he got pissed off at things I would've got pissed off at. So I know where he is coming from. Go Shane!

Bruce: I like this guy too. Nice to people and works his hardest (which is not much but hey he is old, cut some slack!) Talks too much but so what? I'd rather have someone talk shit 24/7 than to have a cocky asshole waiting behind me with a knife.

Aras: Which brings us to Aras. Piece of cocky crap! He acts like he has the darn million in his bank account already. Calls the shot and then panics when he realises he doesn't have big enough balls to. See how he lost it when Courtney refused to vote with him thus yanking his head possibly to the chopping block? Wuss. He is nothing without the numbers. And see his smirk when Austin left? He smirks a bit too much for my liking. Think Bobby's exit. Sonofabitch! He should be disqualified just for being him.

Courtney: She behaves like a 10 year old on crack. She cannot shut up. And she is a fuckin drama queen. She might as well say a prayer for every damn blade of grass she tramples on. She should be disqualified for breathing (together with A-rash).

Danielle: I don't like her much. She has no mind of her own and she doesn't do anything around camp (okok, I'm taking Shane's word for it). Followed Courtney on a couple of bad voting decisions. Someone please remind her that she's not in sorority and that sisterhood doesn't do shit on Survivor.

Cirie: Why the fuck is she still around? Goes to show this is a sneaky one and she should be the one to watch out for. Everyone's busy trying to bring down the likes of Terry and Shane but this is the one who might just make it to the top. Not that I'd be pleased with it because I don't like her. Shit at challenges but I guess that's a good thing now. This girl is heartless and has no qualms voting anyone off. She is not a trustworthy ally but is liked by enough to possibly win this. Noone should go to Final 2 with her! Get rid of her as soon as possible. Shane's alliance is stupid enough to include her. Then again, I doubt she can complete the Final 3 challenge and noone is stupid enough to bring her to Final 2 because she is likeable, so hell, let's just keep her.

Sally: She is good at challenges and quite a nice girl but I still can't forgive her for Dan's departure. She should be gone! Poor Dan. Plus, she lost the spear and has yet to be punished for it. Spear = Fish = Food = Energy = Winning challenges. She caused La Mina to merge with an inferior headcount.

Terry: The biggest fool of them all. He had everything going for him but single-handedly destroyed his chances. Dumb ass. Only way out of this is to keep winning immunity challenges until the week before the final four (he could use his idol for that week). No point trying to fix up an alliance now. Too late. You snooze, you lose.

There is noone better to bring to the Final 2 than Shane. Noone likes him. It's an almost sure win to bring him. I would make a strong and solid Final 2 alliance with Shane. Together, we can decide how to slowly manipulate and use the rest until it's us left.

Bruce and Danielle were smart enough to not allow themselves to be used as mere pawns. If they flop, they would've been in a worse situation and still be at the bottom. It's stupid to let childish emotions get the better of one in this game. Thank goodness they both had sense.

'Oh, they put me at the bottom of the order, I'm mad and I'm flipping' - then you're really gone.

If you realise you are in the bottom of a pecking order, do something. Flip it enough so you end up on top of a new alliance.

Like I said, if I were Bruce or Danielle, I'd make a smaller alliance of two with Shane. We can fool the rest into thinking they are above me in the alliance of 6 and then vote them out one by one. Trick here is to convince Shane that I can be trusted and am weaker although telling him I want him in the Final 2 because noone likes him is going to be tricky.

I love Survivor. It's such a mad game. Mentally, psychologically and physically. No other reality-TV shows come close. Although I'm seldom pleased with the result. Dang.

I think I might review Survivor again next week. If I see something that pisses me off enough.