Not necessarily. According to Dalton Ross, who was on location at the time, both teams really wanted Rob, and Zapatera was visibly irritated when they got stuck with Russell.

Agreed, it was the first time they showed us that Phil is trying to be nuts on purpose. If he does make it to then end and proves that was his strategy all along, then it would save this otherwise terribly boring season. At this point I'm rooting for him now.

Phillip has talked about this strategy a few times now. I think he even mentioned it just last week.

I think there's a good chance of that happening. It will depend on if he can convince the jury his game plan from the start was to be the crazy guy nobody liked. I think some of the Zapatera people will have a hard time believing it was all an act.

This could have all the makings of a Keyser Soze-ian reveal (a la The Usual Suspect), where the Survivor producers cut in flashback footage to bolster his story during final tribal council.

Great post.

I completely agree with you about someone from RI coming back in and stealing it if they put them in the final four or lower. That would be serious bullshit.

And is anyone else sick of the lame ass challenges for RI people? Make those fuckers earn their place and do a stairs type challenge and something at least challenging. Lackluster games of memory, breaking tiles and stacking shit, in my opinion, does not make them earn their place to get a second, (or in Matt's place) third chance at winning this game. Fuck RI. It interested me for a minute but I am way over it now.

The dude accused Steve of being a racist. Now he's going to say, "April Fools?"

Zapatera was a pretty tight group of people, so I don't see Ralph, Julie, and especially David EVER accepting whatever story Phillip comes up with. He won't get any of their votes.

The two tribes didn't seem to ever like one another, but Phillip was in a category all by himself and bitterness always plays a part, sometimes a huge part, in the final vote. I don't think Phillip could turn hate into a vote, but IF he could, he would need to have played other parts of the game very well too. He didn't do that either.

Russell was a deserving player who was hated and lost twice. Phillip has no chance at winning.

As far as RI goes, personally, I agree with those who are coming around to see what BS it is. Even if Matt comes back at 4 or 5 people and not next week, it's totally unfair if he wins. I know, it's just another twist. I don't care. Personally, I don't like it all, but it should have only lasted to the merge. No one who doesn't play the game of Survivor and busts ass the way Rob did last night and faces constant threats of being blindsided, worrying about who is telling you the truth and who's lying, and having to always be on your toes to make sure you never say the wrong thing to end up going from a "safe" place to being voted out, deserves to win because they broke some tiles. I mean most of RI part 2 hasn't even about winning, it's been about not being last. David was ok, Julie was terrible, and Steve wasn't even trying. Now, they'll have 1 REAL challenge and that person will get to come back and potentially win. Not good.

Russell probably deserved to win, but there's no denying he played one of the worst social games ever and it bit him in his large butt two times. No one, other than Phillip, has been anywhere near that kind of ass this season, so I do hope the vote goes to the player who played an all-around great game, not a Zap because they have the majority on the jury or someone like Ashley because they don't want to reward Rob (or any Ometepe) because they don't like them, because they were so mean as to vote them off instead of it being the other way around.

I agree. The stairs challenge has been the best challenge this season. I was really on the edge of my seat while watching.

I would love nothing more for someone on RI to come back and win this season which will cause a huge backlash of this incredibly stupid twist that makes the actual game we have known for 20+ seasons meaningless.

Your fate is not decided by a tribe voting you out but by if you can accurately break tiles or some other recycled challenge. Might as well change the name of the show to 2nd rate Real World Road Rules knock off since that is what RI reduces the show to.

Here's what bugs me: When the next episode airs three days before the finale, it will start with something like a dozen contestants still remaining.

^They need to do a winner takes all RI challenge soon. And make it a tough endurance challenge.

Yea, I'm wondering how they're going to work it? Have 5 total players remaining when the finale starts?

There is zero question in my mind that Steve didn't even try at that challenge. You can't tell me that someone who was truly trying to win would go short that many times. And short by a lot. He wanted out and that was probably a good thing because he did not look good.

Hhaahah, just watched Jeff's video blog. I guess i wasn't the only one.

Isn't that what they've done the past few times? I'm pretty sure that there have been several seasons in which they start with 5 for the finale, have two challenges to whittle the number down to Final 3, and then go to Final Tribal.

The stairs challenge was awesome. While Rob was rolling around on top, the platform was drenched with sweat under him (at least, I hope it was sweat). Jeff kept looking down while he was holding up Rob, so I thought maybe he was trying to avoid whatever bodily fluids were there.

Of course, he was probably concerned after Rob's delirium episode in the recent season. Have to give the guy credit...he really earned this last immunity. Was pulling for Andrea to make the vote more interesting & expected Grant to pull it out with his physicality. In the end, Rob made less mistakes & gutted it out (maybe literally).

As Rob said, it's funny that the others haven't gotten together to figure out that he's pulling all of their strings. Or maybe they have & they still think they can take him out when necessary.

Probably on Thursday's episode they will have a tribal council, then the RI winner re-enters to make a new final 5 and that's where Sunday's finale begins.

Agreed.

The weird thing is that Jeff said that Rob couldn't get voted out next, because he has the idol and it's his last chance to use it at 5 people on Thursday's ep.

Yet, once they get down to 4, they'll bring back someone, so there will be another tribal of 5 in the finale.

Wonder why Rob wouldn't be able to use it the second time they have 5 people with this unusual twist unless it's true and the winner of RI gets an automatic seat at the final tribal and the last immunity winner only gets to select one person? Not a fan of this possibility.

Hopefully they finish RI before the next tribal council and then that person re-enters the game and competes in the next immunity challenge.

They should do a blind endurance challenge, where you wouldn't be able to see or hear what the others are doing and you would have to hold out for as long as you possibly can.

So, when you're hanging onto the pole or standing on the little platform, you wouldn't know that everyone else was off and the winner could potentially end up doing the challenge for several hours after everyone else was out.

I like that idea, except that you end it when it's over. You don't punish the winner by making them continue to endure after all the others are out.

Yup, he threw that challenge. No doubt.

... and I'm in the camp that Rob was milking it there at the end of the IC. I don't doubt he was beat, but he threw some theatrics in there for good measure.

Really, we're at final week already?

It'd be worth having Phillip win just to see the look on Rob's face

Was expecting to see a new animated gif of Natalie in this thread.

Same here.

I'm surprised it's page 3 and still no ass.