If you can be bothered - I wrote a big ass commentary on the lastest episode. I post these in my live journal, and this is probably the best way of sharing my thoughts on recent happenings:
THE ELEVENTH PERSON VOTED OUT OF SURVIVOR: CHAD!!!
Survivor Vanuatu has been a great season for me, alongside Marquesas and Pearl Islands as my favourite seasons. Although we know the men are all going to be going, Mark Burnett still manages to maintain tension - will Twila and Scout side with the guys so they can make it further in the game? Great editing stops this from being too predictable and maintains suspense. I've been watching since Australia, but bought a DVD of the first season, so I've practically seen all seasons. This is by far the most interesting. The women are dominating and if things go according to plan it will be an all female Final 6. I'm loving this girl power, and I must say the Fat Five deserve it after voting out their strongest players first. Stupid mistake and they're paying for it. Usually you wait until the merge before you vote those people out, after they've helped you with the numbers! No, they voted out all the buff guys, and as a result, the women overpowered them, they were outnumbered into the merge and the women are picking them off one by one. The men have made so many mistakes - including trusting Twila and Julie when the teams were still split. They should of kept John and got rid of Julie - but no. Then what happens? Rory out. Sarge out. Chad out. CHRIS, CHRIS, CHRIS. I wanted him to be the first out - after he screwed up that challenge with the balance beam. What a retard. They lost a LEAD, a LEAD on the women. They were in the LEAD - and one man screwed it up - and the voted out one of the strongest guys. Give me an R, give me an E, give me a T, give me an A, give me another R, give me a D, give me an S - what it spell? RETARDS!! So the guy I wanted out first, is the last MAN standing. How funny. Actually Rory and Sarge were my only favourite guys. Chad didnt add anything to the show - he was just there. No impression, people just knew him as the one legged guy. So I'm glad he's gone - he had opportunities to see what was wrong and he didnt fix them. With all the guys, its just missed opportunities this season. Not that I have anything against men, being a guy myself - I just think "Estrogen City" is a great force. From the merge, you could see the guys scurrying around and trying to startegize, while the women just laid back - and we heard the ever powerful Ami say - "I dont care which guy goes, just get rid of one of them". They knew they had control, and no matter how much dissention there is in the ranks - they are loyal.
The challenges last night were great - finally, some orginality, not the same recylced challenges. he first challenge saw one team member being the "sacrificial lamb" - tied up by the hands and fastened at the waste to a series of ropes - her team members threw her through an obstacle course - Eliza and Julie launched their bodies over planks of wood and scraped through the sand - it looked rather exhausting and extremely physical and the losing team looked utterly guttered after having been through all that for nothing. The second challenge was a great twist on the endurance challenge - they all climbed up on ladders - these were taken away - and they had to hold on to a totem pole. Most of them slowly slipped down the pole and fell off, meaning they were out. Other like Eliza stupidly fell off at a great height and almost injured herself, unfortunately she was okay. Twila won this challenge - good for her! Both challenges were enjoyable, and I hope the challenge creators keep working hard instead of resorting back to a game played just last season, as they tend to do.
I must say, I had a hard time pinpointing who this years mastermind is. I didnt think there was any until Ami showed her wrath when she got rid of Bubba with the blink of her evil eyes after she caught him communicating with Chris. I was on the lookout - was it Chris? Rory, maybe? Its always been a guy - Richard Hatch, Lex, Rob Mariano, Brian Hiedick, Rob C., Johnny Fairplay - so I finally found it out - and here it is in Ami. GAWD, I love this woman! She has so much control, and its great. I'm really hoping she wins, but the superpowers always seem to never make it with the exception of Richard Hatch and Brian Hiedick. You see, they either stuff up at the final challenge, or the Jury are just sore losers and can't hack they got beaten. Take All-Stars season for instance. Rob clearly should've been the winner. Everyone was stupid enough to be controlled by him, and he was a great player. Amber rode coat tails, and ended up winning, purely because she was the "lesser of two evils". I dont mind under the radar games - Sandra Diaz Twine is one of my all time favourites - she didnt care who she voted for, she was just always the extra vote for the majority to use, and she used that to the end. Amber was a good character, and I did like her in Australia, but she didnt deserve to win. Enough of that, back to Vanuatu. Yes, the power players - AMI is a great player and is clearly ruling this game, as all the masterminds have done before her. An all-woman final 4, that should be interesting. If Ami doesnt win, then Twila is my pick. She's just such a loveable character. I wouldn't mind Scout and Leanne rounding up the Final 4 - but Julie and Eliza should be the first 2 to go after Chris is gone. That is, if Chris goes next. The preview for next week worries me - looks like Chris does some effective stirring up, when he turns the girls against Twila and Scout. I hope not, because I would die if Twila and Scout go before Julie and Eliza. But, hopefully, as they have been doing, the girls stay true and we end up with an all female final 6.
Survivor has definitely got me hooked again - its an interesting dynamic - this battle of the sexes Vanuatu has become - and it is certainly adding some spice to a series that has been dragging on for a while. And its not even Mark Burnett's twists - its the sheer stupidity of the guys and the all powerful force of the former Yasur girls. Survivor still excites after 9 seasons. Can't wait till next week.
