Survivor: Cook Islands Episode 10 Thoughts

This was one of the episodes that reminds you why you watch Survivor in the first place. They built up the downfall of the Raro tribe over the weeks, which made the payoff oh so much better. Thrown into Raro's doom was some fine schadenfreude, with their arrogance and stupidity getting the best of them. There's a merge, which is always good times. And in the end, you also have a good old-fashioned blindsiding.

First, let's talk about the monster that is Ozzy. I mean, ignoring that the challenge was perfect for him since he's small but strong and agile, he still destroyed everybody else - when he said that he would hold on until the next morning if that's what it took, it was believable and plausible. If most of the challenges end up being physical, you might as well write Ozzy a check for at least $100,000, because he's making it to the final two. It will be interesting to see what his other 4 alliance-mates do when they have the opportunity to give him the boot.

And yes, I did say four. Jonathan jumped back to Aitu this week in what is probably one of the most interesting strategic moves to be seen in Survivor. The biggest impression that we were given early and often was that Jonathan was not happy with the tribe that he put his lot with. From their lackadaisical attitude around camp (after they had been beaten 4 times in a row by a smaller tribe), to their stupidity at not even considering that Yul would have the hidden immunity idol and finally their desire to vote Yul out when Ozzy is a much bigger threat, Jonathan quickly realized that he might be on the wrong side of the equation. But what could he do?

In a shockingly honest conversation, Jonathan let Yul know that he couldn't just switch sides unless he knew that he was protected until the final four and somehow the hidden immunity idol would do this. (This is the most fuzzy part of Jonathan's logic - he seemed to think that aligning with the immunity idol holder = Jonathan going to the final four.) And then he explained why: If he flipped again, he would be the guy who had betrayed everybody still left in the game, which would mean that he could not win the game. And Yul was honest with Jonathan as well, saying that Jonathan had nothing to worry about in terms of not making the final three because Yul felt that Jonathan is somebody that Yul would want to be sitting next to in the final two. And later, knowing that Jonathan wasn't going to budge without seeing the immunity idol, Yul coughed it up.

This led to the aforementioned schadenfreude. Jonathan, not being a dummy, went back to his tribe and floated the idea that Yul had the immunity idol without actually coming out and saying that Yul did. His tribe's reaction? "There's no way that Yul could have it. He was only on Exile Island for a day!" At that point it was a fait accompli - Jonathan would switch to Aitu and virtually forfeit the $1 Million prize on the basis that he stood a better chance of actually getting a shot at the $1 Million by flipping yet again.

Jumping back to Yul for a second, for as much as I called Ozzy a threat, Raro needed to look at getting Yul off the show as well. They fingered him as the mastermind, and that is rather smart. (With that said Ozzy=young version of Terry, who can sweep to the finals without much thought. Yul, smart, but can be beaten.) Yul's project management skills worked incredibly well today, along with his ability to read people. He targetted Jonathan to flip because Jonathan is the rational thinker, the one who would listen to a reasonable argument and act accordingly. If he approached Nate, for example, it would have been disasterous.

(I would be remiss not to point out Yul's discussion about surface area and mass and how it affected people during the immunity challenge. Parvati has it half right when she says "smart=sexy". "Smart+decent physique=sexy". And besides, if the pictures of him as a kid in his huge glasses didn't cement his geekiness, nothing will.)

It's funny, because Nate is well, not so smart. Let's see...your tribe managed to put together a 4-2 vote of Jenny, with you being not in the loop. And yet, you feel secure in working with this tribe. Good job Nate. At least Jonathan had the good sense to read the writing on the wall and conclude that he was at best 4th in the tribe. You, OTOH, seem to be missing this (then again, you were very bitter about Jonathan switching so maybe you realized this too late.) Special shout outs to Candace and Adam, who don't seem to realize that maybe this whole "romance" thing will put them on the chopping block. At least Parvati has some sort of sense that "hooking up" with somebody is a bad thing, but flirting can help you.

And now, it's time for the return of everybody's favourite feature. That's right, the ranking lists! It's a bit more difficult to rank who will win, because there are three people on the jury who haven't necessarily spent any of time with potential final two members. But like it's stopped me before.

Most Likely to Win
1. Yul
2. Ozzy
3. Sundra
4. Becky
5. Adam
6. Parvati
7. Candace
8. Jonathan

Who I want to Win

1. Yul
2. Ozzy
3. Jonathan
4. Parvati
5. Becky
6. Sundra
7. Candace
8. Adam

(Note: It's not that I really like Jonathan that much, but I'd love to see him rewarded for realizing his bad position and doing something to change it.)

Who goes next week? Buh-bye Adam. It's been nice knowing your stupid gameplaying ass.