Survivor Tonight!
 

Just a reminder to those that follow the show that Survivor is on tonight, rather than its usual Thursday slot. I can't tell from the previews if this is a real show or just one of those "extra scenes" type of show. It seems a bit early in the season for one of those but who knows. Next week, there isn't a show, so I hope there is at least some substance to tonights episode. (Assuming that there can be any sort of substance to a reality show. :) )

ooh, that's right. thanks for the heads up!

yeah, last week's preview looked as if it might be a season recap.

but, i will check it out.

thanks again.

You know, I really liked Bobby. Sure he was an idiot, but at least he was straight up about it.

Bobby bugged the snot out of me. I am also tired of Terry. He is sososooo full of himself, I can't wait to see him get voted off, the look on his face will be priceless.

I am pulling for Bruce, he is quirky and fun to watch.

Don't count on it...he's got the hidden immunity idol.

Can someone give me a recap of last night. After starting this thread...I forgot it was on. :rolleyes:

Las tnight was one of those "previously unseen moments from the first 15 days of Survivor" episodes. You missed nothing other than a synopsis of the happenings thus far in the season.

And a few good extra clips, like Misty pathetically trying to stick to her "I found the immunity idol" story and Sally totally suckering Austin in with her "My parents disowned me 'cause I got a divorce" (okay, I don't know that she was playing him...but it certainly did the trick). But nothing of substance.

Go Sally!

I never understood that strategy. KNowing that the person with the immunity idol can use it after the vote, I would immediately vote for anyone I knew had it. Therefore they would have to use it and lose it, and I would be on an equal playing field again. Why would you want people to think you have it? It makes them more likely to vote for you, would it not?

Because you put yourself at risk. Remember, if they use the hidden immunity idol, whoever gets the second most votes goes. So anyone that is slightly insecure and thinks they might have votes coming their way would certainly want to encourage others to NOT vote for the person with the immunity idol, else they would be risking being caught in the wake. Same reason no one's risked a tied-vote since about season 4 when the deciding factor became random.

It is true that whomever has thesecond most goes. But that will be true no matter when that person with the idol gets the votes. It would seem wise to try to manipulate the events to figure out who will get the second most votes.

For example, let's say there's a merge and there is a 5-4 split between two old tribes. Our 5 has Terry, and I know he has the immunity idol. I know that the other 4 are voting for Terry.

At tribal, I switch to vote for Terry, so we have a 5-4 vote to put Terry off. Terry pulls out the immunity idol, saving himself, and the other person still goes. No one knows who flopped. Some turmoil within our alliance of 5? Certainly. But it's either that or give him a free pass to the final 3, I believe it is.

In that situation, perhaps. But in the earlier stages, when alliances are less clear and votes are often spread out and near-random, there remains too high a chance that those other votes will come your way. So if you think you're going to be voted for, it might make sense to say, "Hey, uh, you know, I have the idol, so if you vote for me, and I vote for you and one other person votes for you...you're screwed. So I wouldn't suggest voting for me."

C'mon, you had to have loved, "So, I put the stick on this fire thing I got here?" Bloody hillarious, and he got what he wanted...he got to go back to sleep!

He did have a few good one liners. I was put off with him from the first few mins of the show. What he did with the wine was great, stupid, but great. If it hadn't been for him the team would not have won. I think that was part of where he was coming from, but he had to have known the consequences.

So...

Thoughts on last nights episode? Did anyone remember to watch (or care to)?

My thoughts...

1) I'm not sure there is anyone left that I really care to see win.

2) Terry is not very bright. Had he given the immunity necklace to Nick, it might have resulted in Shane getting the boot and giving Terry a much better chance at finding someone to switch sides and even things out a bit. It would appear at this point that Terry's only plan is to keep winning immunity challenges. We'll see how that works out.

3) Not very bright of Austin to let everyone know that he faked being weak. It wasn't a bad idea and it probably saved him but why tell everyone?

4) Bruce got hit in the face with a machete so at least there was some entertainment value to last nights episode. :)

Sally! Oh, right, you're gay.

I thought that too...but that would still only leave them at 5-4. Not worth risking your ace-in-the-hole for that.

Seriously. WTF was he thinking?

Yep. Would have only made sense to do it if it was 5-5. Defintiely have to use it for self preservation.

I am entertained by Shane's insanity.

That was seriously the lamest attempt I have ever seen to flip someone to your side. "Join our four and you'll get to the final 5!". Um....if you already have the numbers on your side, why flip just to have numbers on your side?

They needed to play some head games with Shane. Tell him that Bruce was talking to them because he doesn't like Shane or the girls. Tell Cerie that Shane told them she was the first of the 6 to go after the others are gone because she didn't deserve to be there. They needed to mess with the alliance, and they didn't.

Bruce deserved the machette to the face for falling for the "You're calling the shots" line. Clueless!

Clueless is about the best word to describe Bruce. I liked him early in the season but he is really starting to grate on my nerves.

By the way, who knew that Nick could even speak? I thought he was a mute.

And Sally? ... Maybe she has a shot by staying so far under the radar, I forgot all about her. :)

And I agree with scaeagles (damn, I'm getting tired of saying that). Head games with Shane would have been very entertaining. He might have even just snapped completely.

If only Terry had smuggled a cigarette on to the island. Shane would have shifted alliances in a heartbeat. :)

He was spending all his time in a corner practicing that weird little motivational speach he gave after he was voted out.

That was particularly odd.

I have nothing to add to this thread (or the golf thread), but I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you.





:D

I thought they (Terry, Austin, Sally) made a good play tonight, unlike last week when they were just stupid.

I honestly cannot believe that Danielle did not accept that offer, especially after she and Austin apparently genuinely had a bonding experience.

I was glad to see that the alliance of six may be cracking, but I liked Austin a lot and I was sorry to see him go.

I think next week looks like it's going to get interesting. The group of six is about to turn on each other.

I find this to be so parallel to Danni winning it last time around. She came into the merge with her tribe down in numbers, was the last remaining one of her tribe, the alliance turned on each other, and she outlasted everyone.

I see Terry doing the same thing. And he has the advantage of one free pass should he fail in an immunity challange.

When that immunity challenge started, I said, "Hmm, let's think of what the inside of a Navy fighter cockpit lookslike...I wonder if Terry can memorize 7 simple symbols on the first try." That one was just slightly skewed in his favor (though it's looking like there's not such thing as a challenge that isn't).

I'm sad to see Sally go. She did well to get as far as she did, too bad she was on the sucky team.

Well, now we know that dummy Terry failed to show her enough of the idol to convince her that he wasn't bluffing. Oops.

I would guess that almost any challange is going to be skewed in his favor. Seriously.

He is a naval aviator, so he excels in the water, excels in hand eye, has to be in top physical condition, and must be mentally sharp at all times. The only one even close physically is Aras, and I don't think any of the others hold a candle to him mentally.

Bump. Thursday reminder.

Looking forward to tonights show, even though I think Terry pretty much has the million in his back pocket now. I think it is a matter of time before Aras is removed and that pretty much ends whatever threat Terry might face in the remaining challanges.

Yep....the alliance of 6 is about to start cannibalizing their own, then it will come down to Terry and someone else, and the former group alliance with their 5 members on the jury, along with the other two former mates of Terry, will vote probably unanimously for him. They won't vote for the people who stabbed them in the back.

Something radical wil have to happen for Terry not to get to the final two.

If I were in the alliance, I would advise the group to bite the bullet and vote for Terry the first time he doesn't win immuntity to get the idol out of the game. This means one of them is voted off, but it has to be done sometime or he gets to the final two. I don't think they'll have the foresight to do that, though.

Is a medical emergency really going to take someone out of the game, or are they just playing up something silly to get ratings?

I read a spoiler the other day regarding an online betting site that was getting increased traffic on one contestant, so terminated Survivor betting. I wasn't too pleased with the name mentioned.

I am still rooting for Terry. I'm sad to see Sally go. She was a tough competitor. I can't believe Cirie is still around, but she's on the DRAMA tribe, so her stealth playing has worked to her advantage.

Wow - good thing they got Bruce out, huh? What would happen should Bruce not be able to be a member of the jury?

Shane just slays me. I'm not hoping he wins, but the guy is so mental I just can't wait to see what he does next....and it looks like next week he starts losing it even more.

Now that Sally's gone (:sniff: ), I'm gunnig for Cerie. She's like Shi-Ann without the stick up her ass!

I think Shane is playing everyone a lot more than they realize. I might be giving him too much credit but occasionally he sounds like there is a method to his madness. Perhaps if everyone views him as a psycho, then they also might feel that he would be a good person go to the final 2 with and therefore, be reluctant to vote out prematurely.

Or maybe I'm just tired. :)

Strange but entertaining episode tonight, well except for Bruce. He has his quirks but I felt sad that he had to leave the game under those circumstances.

I wouldn't mind seeing Cerie win, if for no other reason than I thought she was not going to be in the game long. She started this whole thing being afraid of leaves and now she is in the final 6. I never would have guessed she would make it that far.

Did anyone catch the comment about them being the only tribe that would stick together to the end of the game? Did they not watch the first Survivor?

I thought the same exact thing. Idiots.

They've survived despite themselves. Casaya were completely disfunctional, yet somehow managed to squeak by on challenges. That's the only reason they stayed whole - they weren't forced to vote their own off.

Poor Bruce. He must have been in so much pain. That medic was totally hot though, and with an Aussie accent! Too bad he didn't say "G'day Bruce." :D

Gotta agree. She seems to be the only person who is actually enjoying herself. She's always happy, gets along with people, has a great smile....if she gets to the final two, she wins the vote. However, if she gets to the final immunity challange, I don't see her winning it as it is typically endurance, and anyone winning it would have to be an idiot to take her to the final two with them.

Oh good, I'm not the only one who chuckled at hearing an Aussie say "Bruce".

I so wanted to throttle Courtney. "See?! See how you're taking that game so feaking seriously?! That's what makes you annoying!!!" They had some great questions in that one.

I'm glad Bruce went, we were spared another round of Terry's pathetic attempts at strategy. As dyfunctional as they are, they simply aren't going to turn on each other until they're forced to. Both because they got a good thing going, no matter how much they hate each other, and because Terry is just terrible at convincing anyone to make a move.

Terry didn't do such a good job hiding his smile when Probst was explaining what had happened to Bruce.

I thought the exact same thing.

Hmm, I don't think Terry had reason to be happy about that. Bruce was clearly the 6th man, so it's not like a big player was removed from play. Plus, that kind of dramatic thing usually ends up strengthening alliances. AND with no tribal council that means that there's more time for the babies to kiss and make up after the challenge. Terry's one slim chance of breaking things up slipped through his fingers. Not that he'd have been able to do anything about it anyway, the inept sap.

1) Cerie rules. Cerie rules. Cerie rules.

2) How soon before Shane has a promotional contract with Research in Motion (makers of Blackberry)?

Cirie

She is quite the manipulater, huh? I think everyone better wise up to that or she wins the million. She beats anyone in the final two easily. But i think everyone knows that. I give her zero chance at winning the traditional final endurance immunity, and I don't see anyone taking her with them to the final two.

Danielle has no spine.

Terry is in the final four (at least) with his idol.

Who needs a spine when you have no brain to send signals down it?

Reminder - it gets down to the final four tonight. Only for sure thing is that Terry will be there, so either Danielle, Cerie, Shane, or Aras goes.

Predictions? I think unless Aras wins immunity he's gone. If he does win it, it will be interesting to see what happens. It could very well be that with Terry having the idol and everyone knowing it, they vote for someone other than Terry to protect their own butts.

If I'm Terry and I don't win immunity, I tell everyone that I'm going to vote for them. As they know he has the idol, they will be thinking self preservation and vote for each other, allowing Terry to perhaps not even have to use it and he's in the final three automatically.

Thanks for the reminder. I would have tuned into Texas Ranch House out of habit tonight. :rolleyes:

How is Texas Ranch House? I almost watched it the other night, but didn't for some reason.

Well, so much for my theory.

I thought Shane handled his dismissal very well. No dramatics or freaking out, which is how I had envisioned it would be when he finally got it.

Next week will be interesting. I doubt Terry will relax too much at the next immunity challange, because he doesn't want Aras to get it.

I just have to laugh at Aras. He may not like Terry, but I think that's mostly because he's a 24 year old getting his butt kicked repeatedly by someone 18 years his senior.

I'll say it again too. I think Terry should tank the next immunity (after putting up a good show) so that he can pick the next person voted off. If he doesn't have immunity the other three presumably vote for him. He votes for someone else and then when he pulls out the immunity idol the person he voted for is gone. If possible I would knock Aras or Danielle out because regardless of thow the other third is, unless the person is very loyal they won't want Cirie with them in the final two.

Terry's an idiot. He has no idea how to play the game, no idea how to get people to vote with him, and no idea how to talk to people at all. "You didn't deserve to spend time with your mother." :rolleyes:

So unless Aras pulls a final 3 immunity out from under Terry, I don't see how the final 2 can be anybody but Terry and Daniel. If Aras doesn't win final 4 immunity, he's gone. If he does, then I suspect they all know that Cirie is a much bigger threat than Danielle for final 2, so she's gone. And then when Terry wins final 3 immunity, he'll bring Danielle.

If that is the final 2...vomit.

eta: I agree with Alex about throwing final 4 immunity, but I think it'll go down differently if he does. I think, as someone else mentioned earlier, whoever doesn't have immunity will be too scared of the "I'll get the brunt of the hidden immunity idol" and they won't all vote for Terry. Instead, whoever does have immunity will band together and vote for the 3rd, and I'm betting, unless she wins immunity (hah!), it'll be Aras and Danielle voting for Cirie.

I don't see Terry ever throwing a challange. It isn't within him to do so.

I think it is important enough to him the Aras doesn't get to the final three that he tries to win it. He then can give the immunity idol to Danielle, because Cerie and Aras would vote for Danielle. Danielle and Terry can then get rid of Aras. Danielle and Terry need each other, because neither of them can beat the other two in the final vote.

If Aras wins it, Danielle is gone, because there is no way Cerie and Aras vote for Terry as they are pretty sure he has that idol. If they vote for him they are just stupid.

Of course, what do I know? I figured if Aras didn't win immunity this week he was gone.

I've only watched the last few episodes so I am not aware of how confident people are that Terry has the immunity idol.

He's shown it to Danielle and others. It's an established fact at this point.

And yeah, I doubt Terry will throw the immunity challenge too...'cause he's not smart enough to think of that. He could do it, still get rid of Aras, and be the one calling the shots. Instead, he'll win it, and yet again be the passive dolt.

Ah, that piece of knowledge changes things.

But if he throws the immunity challange, it's quite possible Aras wins immunity. Then he can't possibly get rid of him. If he wins immunity, gives the idol to Danielle, they vote Aras and he's gone not matter what.

It's possible that even if Terry doesn't win immunity he and Danielle survive. If Aras and Cerie don't vote for Terry because of the idol, they vote for Danielle, and he gives it to Danielle after the vote is read, and they still get Aras or Cerie off.

I saw happy to see Shane go, as was Nickolas. I just think they are all not playing very smartly (yeah, bad grammar). Even Cirie, who has been playing the game rather well, has not been using her head as much as she should. I am just bugged that my co-worker (the one who shares my office) didn't watch it last night, so I can't talk about it yet. Oh, and I liked the way Terry divided up the reward challenge, but I would have preferred to see Cirie and her hubby go to the lodge and Boston go back to camp.

I'm rooting for Cerie, even though her chances are very, very slim. I'm just amazed that she is still around. However, I think it would be very unwise for any of them to bring her with them to the final two because I bet she could make a very good case for herself.

Terry has to take Danielle if he wants to win. Sigh. At that point, who cares.

I do (even if I've only watched three episodes).

When I grow up I want to be Terry. And if I'm going to be Terry I wouldn't mind knowing that involves winning $1,000,000 (though, since he is an airline pilot that is somewhere between 5-7 years salary for him).

Do you want to be as bad at reading people and at convincing people to side with you as he is?

I'm rooting for Cerie too. Although I heard they had to stop betting (offshore) on the series because of lopsided voting for one person in particular:

OK....I'm thinking that you can't give away the idol. Only the person who has it when you walk into tribal can use it. You see, if I'm Terry, I put the flippin' thing in a bag right between myself and Danielle and whichever one of us needs it grabs it out of the bag. Guess that's not allowed.

I gained a bit more respect for Aras tonight in that he admitted his ego was bruised by Terry always winning. I have less respect for Terry for whining about the rules (grow up, dude) and getting mad at Cerie for putting her torch on the ground and it happened to be in his way. (grow up, dude)

I do feel a bit ripped off! I can't believe they didn't show the results of the burnoff.

I guess I come from a different place in interpreting Terry's reaction at the challenge. I don't think he's a whiner. I think Aras was being a total asshole.

Oh...I agree about Aras being an asshole and I have always thought that. That's why I felt behooved to mention that I gained a bit of respect for him. But Terry has to trust that they'll catch anyone breaking the rules. I thought that was a bit ridiculous.

Terry continues to be an idiot...Aras equaled his idiocy in the challenge. And good god, he instantly treated Cirie like a child. What a dick.

In the prewiews for Sunday they showed a challenge. There were 3 people in the shot. I am hoping it was a previous challenge that I missed, otherwise it is a total buzzkill.

I fully expected Cirie to be gone tonight. I honesty think she still has a slim chance to pull this off and she is the one I would most like to see win. She might not have been good at challenges but that isn't really the game, it is to survive. I wrote her off after the first or second episode and she has really earned my respect. She's a smart lady and she has come a long way in this game from being afraid of leaves to starting a fire and catching a fish and being very subtle about her strategy.

She is the only one I care to see win, much more than the two pricks or the parasite.

I don't think they would give it away that easy. I think it was just a little more of that misdirection they are famous for.

I hope so. I loved Tribal. When Cirie spoke everyone was smiling and nodding. When Danielle spoke everyone was rolling their eyes and making faces.

The footage they used showed Aras and Terry in the final challenge, but the clips with the women were from previous episodes.

I wonder if they tailor the challenges to the overall fitness of the group? This season the later challenges seem to be more physical than in some seasons where it seemed like people were pretty wasted by the end of it.

Trying to figure out which I think is most likely to happen in the final two.

Terry vs. Danielle - Terry gets every vote except Cerie and Aras, wins 5-2.

Terry vs. Aras - Terry gets Austin and Sally. Shane and Courtney are ticked about being betrayed, and Shane is grateful to Terry for the time with his son. Terry wins 4-3.

Terry vs. Cerie - Terry gets Austin and Sally. But this one is harder to call because I don't know if Shane and Courtney know she's the one who orchestrated their demise. If they do, it could go Terry 4-3. But Cerie is likable enough that they may forgive her, and Terry isn't likable, so it's more likely to be Cerie winning 5-2.

Danielle vs. Aras - Terry, Austin and Sally vote Danielle, but I see Aras getting the other votes and winning 4-3.

Danielle vs. Cerie - Cerie 6-1 with Terry voting Danielle.

Aras vs. Cerie - Cerie 7-0.

So, I have scenarios of Cerie, Terry, and Aras winning. This means it will probably be Danielle.

I really liked Terry, but the more he spoke in the last couple episodes, the less I liked him.

I've hated Terry ever since the first post-merger vote. His attempts at strategy were so transparently pathetic, it was clear that he thought he was a strategic genius when in reality he was clueless.

But he's a Fighter Pilot! He's COOL! They should just give him the million now because he's clearly better than the rest of them. He's just FULL of strategy! He's a trained member of the military! No one will know what he's planning!

:rolleyes:

I've been rooting for Cerie from day one and I'm totally shocked that she's made it this far. She's not young, skinny, or white. She seems to have mastered the balance between taking the game seriously and trying to stay as long as she can, without taking herself so seriously that she becomes annoying.

I guess she just seems more like a normal person than most of the contestants.

I hope the challenge preview is misdirection. I really really really do.

I was trying to coax my printer into working and totally forgot to watch Survivor.

Steph, will you remind me on Sunday? Please?

Well, if it is any consolation, none of us know any more about the results of tribal council than you do. :)

Speaking of which, I thought it was awfully strange that there was a one hour episode with the final 4. I've grown accustomed to the final 2 hour episode and it seems that they won't actually need a whole 2 hours considering it will be down to 3 within a couple of minutes.

The first hour is probably recap as usual.

So I haven't missed anything.

Tomorrow's ep will recap the entire season for the first hour, and the last 45 minutes will be the "reunion." That leaves about 15 minutes of acutal content, about 7 of which will be used up by commerical.

I have something to look forward to for 8 minutes tomorrow! :rolleyes:

Nickolas and I will be watching it at 5 with The Old People. My mom asked us to come over, so this way Nick can watch it, too.

well...That is all, just well....

Was that a little nod of secret alliance before Aras fell off?

Well, that strikes me as a mistake on her part. But at least now I have no interest in the rest of the show so I have more time for actually getting stuff done.

Well, I agree Alex, though I did watch it. After Cirie and Terry were gone I thought - eh, who cares.

But better Aras than Danielle. Is there anyone Danielle didn't lie to?

Was glad to see Cirie get voted the car.

I still like Shane. He always entertained me, and anyone who would quit smoking cold turkey while playing Survivor has got my vote as a stud.

Now that it is morning I can say that it was the reward challenge that I saw on the promo spot. It did show Danielle very briefly the first time I saw it but they had edited her out each time after that.

I don't know much about 'Survivor' (I haven't seen a single episode) but I do know that this show is huge. It's making a ton of money for the network. Don't you think they could up the prize money by now? They can afford more than a mil...

I think it should be upped to cover all taxes so that the winner is actually a millionaire. I wanted to shout at the TV when Jeff told Aras he was a millionaire. No he isn't! He has to pay a few hundred thousand in taxes!

Not exact sure how taxes on winnings work, but if rate is 33%, up it to 1.5 million so the winner truly does keep a million.

Also, GC, I believe everyone who makes it to the jury gets monet, though I'm not sure of the pay scale, only that second place gets 100K.

I think that's a good idea. I was thinking they should do that with lotteries, too.
Monet? Are you trying to be hip? ie. Show me the Monet?! :D Ha ha.

Well, now that you've quoted my typo, how am I supposed to go change it????:)

Originals or prints? Originals would be quite the prize.

Aras and Nick both put back on quite a bit of weight after the show was over. Did they say how many pounds they lost? I missed some of the Q&A.

I was guessing that the next season would be somewhere near NZ, and it's true. They're going back to the Pacific - the Cook Islands. :) We get exile island again too.

Jeff didn't ask the most important question during the runion...is Shane back up to 3 packs a day?

Well, I'm sooo glad the spoiler was false. I was convinced, thanks to the spoiler rumor, that the final 2 was going to be Terry and Danielle, with Danielle winning. And that would have made me ill. I'm not exactly thrilled that Aras won, but better him than Danielle or Terry.

Survivor Sally = hot
Juror Sally = ummm...clown? 14 year old playing dress-up?
Reunion Sally = hot once again.

Did anyone catch the final vote count, and who voted for whom? We know Bruce voted for Danielle. I'm guessing Austin voted for Danielle. Jeff only read 6 votes, which probably means that the final vote was for Aras too, making it 5-2. So unless I'm wrong about Austin, that's probably it.

I agree on Sally.

At first I thought Danielle was hot....I so disliked her voice and personality throughout the show though that it faded quickly.

Would not have objected to Misty being around longer, though.

Shane was the other vote for Danielle....he had put the answer to his "pick a number between one and a million" on it, and she was closer.

Oh, right. Duh. So much for her amazing Exile Island bond with Austin.

Man, I wish I had the exact quote.

"...two strong men out there, getting it on, strapping it on, and making it happen."

GD, you deleted the show, didn't you? :mad:

"Two mature men, strapping it on, getting it on, making it happen."

Lol, that line got an "Oh my..." out of Matthew. :)

Poor Cirie, if you hadn't become over-confident when you saw that initial flame and had continued to nurture your fire, you would have had a nice bank account today.

Once she was out, our entire interest in the conclusion diminished greatly. I sat there looking at 3 people and disliking all of them. I thought Shane gave the best speech at the end and I have to say, I really enjoyed him. I know he annoyed most people but I found him highly entertaining. If they ever do an all-star show again, I hope they will include him.

They should do an "all-psycho/evil" version of survivor.

Shane, Lex, Johnny Fairplay....who else should be on that version?

Was it just me or did the final immunity challenge seem designed to favor Danielle over Terry and Aras? On any balance challenge I'd give a huge edge to Terry but the setup strongly disfavored the heavier people. It is hard enough to balance on a float, much harder when your weight puts the float under water.

This was the first season of Survivor since the first one where I watched more than a few minutes so I don't know the details of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Does anybody know if the challenges are designed before the beginning of game play or do they work on them as they go along?

I don't remember Lex being psycho or evil. What am I forgetting?

Perhaps you are thinking of Lex Luthor. ;)

He wasn't evil....but definitely control-freak psychotic. If you dared to breathe a breath of disloyalty to him, he went off. When he was voted off, he was more pissed than anyone I've ever seen, and at the final vote he was psychotic in his rage against those who had conspired against him.

Maybe we could expand that to psycho, evil, and control freaks. Then we could certainly throw in Boston Rob.

I would give a balance edge to females over males period. The water certainly did make the effect more dramatic. I thought perhaps Aras, being a yoga instructor, might give her a go, but she never wobbled while Terry and Aras struggled mightily. He would have fallen even if she hadn't given him the nod.

You'd think that as a yoga instructor, Aras should have won that one. Maybe he's not a very good yogi?

I think it was just much harder for the guys. Not because they're balance is worse (Terry has certainly shown his balance is very good in previous challenges) but because their weight put the entire final float under water (and Terry's more than Aras's) whereas Danielle's was still above water.

Once a float is completely or mostly submerged its behavior is completely different and much harder to keep balanced.

It's not the first time that the final challenge has been horribly skewed based on body-type. Danni won last season's simply because she had the longest legs (which, btw, makes here someone who won the final immunity AND the million).

Yeah, that's why I was asking if all the challenges are predetermined before taping begins.

The best was that you could see half of the other Survivors getting a good laugh out of it too.