ckw4b

You underestimate the power of morale. James ate a shitload, was always calling people out for whatever reason and didn't really seem to carry his weight in any of the challenges.

JT and Amanda had plenty of opportunities to show their puzzle solving skills and yet was always unable to pull the tribe through. Now without a brainless idiot yelling at them during the puzzle solving, they are actually able to focus on the task at hand. Coincidence?

Howie2000

Because both players have proven themselves reliable loyal allies in their original seasons. They were also both on teams that won early challenges so that they could sit them out once they got a numbers advantage so their physical liabilities could not hurt the tribe.

Howie2000

But he was their ally and was only ever yelling at Stephanie.

If "Team Morale" was so important why was a Ununited Villians tribe which had been cliquish and fighting and trying to position themselves in the game from day 1 dominating.

Because "Team Morale" is a bunch of hogwash that makes it easier to edit the winning tribe as playing the game correctly and the losing tribe as people who have their priorities mixed up and are playing like idiots.

Are people believing that the heroes are suddenly playing the game smart now and the villians all playing dumb. I hope people are not that gullible

If James being a hothead and an asshole was such a liability why did his premerge tribe better the competition in 2 previous season?

I would say the Villians for some unknown reason sitting out Sandra and Courtney at the RC and not the IC is 100 times more likely the reason for the Heroes sudden turnaround in challenge performance.

wirefan

Maybe it's short term memory, but recent edits seem to be much more focused down on the 2 voting targets for the night (after the challenge) and pre-challenge it seems like they just put on the big personalities. And they mix in the random Amanda whine (tastefully done when she's in a bikini bottom). And the camp work/survival aspect of the game is almost completely edited out (other than some stuff in the very beginning about the heroes' shelter and the "banana ettiquette" there seems to be very little about food, water, elements... and is it just me or do people seem to have several changes of clothes?)

I think if they are going to keep doing the allstar seasons the survival aspect should be really amped up in terms of difficulty and maybe some more wildcards thrown in (tribe switch ups, unexpected tribal councils, some sort of exile or a winning tribe able to disrupt things - assigning immunity, getting a single vote at the opposing tribal, maybe even a really early merge and then an un-merge? )

wirefan

This was a really shortsighted decision... it's one thing to sit Courtney out when there's 7 or 8 people in the next immunity challenge and you might be able to hide Courtney's pathetic abilities, but the Villains had to know that she would potentially be seriously exposed being 1 of just 5... I mean what if it was a strength related challenge or she had to swim or dive? I understand the Sandra decision as she has shown some ability on puzzles and they were probably thinking there would be that type of component again.

What makes the decision even more insane was Jeff went over the reward challenge rules prior to them deciding and it was clear the challenge was rotating teams of 3, so Courtney wouldn't even had been playing full time.... heck knowing the typical Survivor rotation of all guy, all girls, mix of guys/girls they should have realized she could be playing as little as 33% (or even 25%) of the time in the reward.

superfro

Seriously. One of my most favorite Survivor moments in 20 seasons! The edit was brilliant cause at first you have no idea they are sitting right in front of them. It was like a shot in the Office where the camera pans over and there they are. Fucking hilarious!

"Well...what do you want me to say?"

dino88

And 2 of the biggest mouths in the game were speechless.

wirefan

^ If only Coach was there, he could have commented on how that would be the honorbable thing to do.

Could you imagine if Coach had been sitting there too.... now that would have turned the knob to 11!

guildda

Russell is the best. Best scene I can remember on this show ever.

This episode was absolutely fascinating. Everyone went into this knowing they could abuse Coach's vote and suddenly he's thinking a little bit (just a little) and making the most sense. Up is down, black is white, and Russell has planted his seed amongst everyone.

dino88

Coach may be the first person to get evacuated for a nervous breakdown.

Arthur Dent

I was going to say that he wouldn't be the first, but since you said 'evacuated' instead of 'leave' then I guess you'd be right. Kathy Sleckman (Micronesia--Fans vs Favorites) kind of had a nervous breakdown but she chose to leave on her own IIRC.

davidh777

Heroes

I'd forgotten she was a Puzzle Dominator but it sounds familiar. As annoying as she was, I liked her.

Cardsfan111

Just caught the most recent episode online and now reading thru this thread--I'm a little surprised at all the dislike for Rob. I thought he played the game well this go-around. He had things together previously until the idiotic decision by Tyson--one that appeared to be swayed by Russell but still made no sense. Then he was put out tonight after the idiotic decision by Coach ("I must be loyal to both sides so I'll cast a vote for someone entirely different"). Coach's play to vote like this was more attributed to Jerri's decision to switch sides than it was to anything Russell did. If Jerri had stayed loyal to the Rob/Sandra/Courtney group, there's no doubt in my mind that Coach would have gone along with 'em.

yepyep

I'm also not surprised that the Heros did better w/o James . I'm not really sure you can compare past seasons like that with this one. James is just one part of a larger group, and his effect on the dynamic can change depending on the other members of that group.

Really looking forward to what happens with the villians. I'm wondering if anyone else stands up to try to counter balance the dominance of Russell.

Bill Needle

No doubt. It was awesome. Even Rob was flustered.

"He’s (Rob) threatening Russell Hantz. When do you that, you go." - Russell

Russell goes from being down 6 to 3 to complete command of the tribe in a week.

TyroneJordan

It's Russell's arrogance that will be his ultimate downfall. He better make sure he gets Courtney and Sandra out before the jury or they'll vote against him. Coach will vote against him because Russell will ultimately betray him. Then again, I'm assuming Russell will get far providing that Parvati doesn't get his ass out first.

I predict that the heroes' tribe will stay strong and will knock the villains out one by one in the merge. The villains are just too fragmented. Rob was the reason why they won challenges. He's gone, and now it's self destruct mode.

Red Dog

Well that sucked. I was really hoping we'd have a long playout of Russell vs. Rob after last week.

Tyson's stupidity really fucked everything. I see the Villains' losing streak going for several more eps....heading toward an even merge.

Coach is a total wuss.

Red Dog

That was awesome. As was Boston Rob's reaction.

Cardsfan111

I've enjoyed reading Probst's blog the next morning after each episode. I think he was drinking prior to writing his latest one...just rambles on and on.

Tommy Ceez

The King is dead. Long live the king!

And I TOTALLY disagree that if people had seen Russel's season that wouldn't get into an alliance with him. He dragged 4 useless players to the top 5 single handedly and took ALL the heat proudly. THAT is the guy you get in an alliance with.

BDLOU

Russell has no social game eh? I wish everyone would admit that the guy is one of the best players to ever play this game. It's not his edit, the Immunity Idols, or because of stupid people. He is just good at this game. I like Rob because he is probably a more complete player than Russell but he has to give Russell his due. I still think Russell will get blindsided before too long.

zuffy

Yeah, this one suck major ass.

OscarBluth

Once again, Russell has the biggest balls on TV this week. And that includes Randy on South Park.

TwineTime

I'd say it's a combination of all 4 of those.


And just like Randy's, Russell's balls will eventually kill him. For all of you who loved that scene, do you promise not to whine this season if Russell makes it to the finals and loses again?

superfro

The eventual bitterness of all the losers in the jury will most likely never allow someone like Russell to win this game, regardless of the fact that he's the best player to ever be on the show. Most of the votes in his season were not for Natalie to win, they were for Russell to lose.