1) The Hero vs The Villain: So it’s Matt! The man is-shall-would be always remembered for defeating the most strategic villain (Russel Hantz) in a SURVIVOR duel. This was a first in history and nobody had such accomplishment except for him, right?
If Matt wins the next duel, it won’t be a surprise. It’s kinda expected. Matt is too powerful for Kristina. He’s young and athletic. He got the momentum, his level of confidence is higher and he’s ready to win it all. We saw him compete twice and we saw how good he was in controlling his nerves when he needed to.
It will be interesting to see if Kristina pulls an upset. Matt is already a big favorite and many people will hate it should he lose but come on, Kristina deserves a chance. Let’s see what she got.
2) Russel’s Gone, Ralph’s in Trouble: If not for Ralph’s huge ego, it would have been a very quiet exit for Russel. It won’t do any good in his game by revealing to everyone he got the idol. Russel was already on his way out the Island, he’s embarrassed, he’s saying farewell for good and whether or not he bought Ralph’s bluffing or not, Ralph still lose his cool. The damage has been done and there’s no way of bringing it back.
3) The Immunity Challenge: Ometepe did their part. They wanted to win but just came a little short against Zapatera. Zapatera came together as a team and it’s clear that Ralph acted as the leader. However, no one heavily relied on him. Truth is; two other members brought their A+ game. One in particular was Mike. He showed how skilled and quick he was in sawing the wall. The other one would be Stephanie. She stayed calm getting through the knots during a tight showdown against Ashley.
4) Episode Rating: Apart from Russel’s breakable departure and Boston Rob’s intense search-and-found for the hidden idol, other events were predictable. The Tribal Council did not make an impact at all. It was not difficult to let go of Kristina. I knew it was coming and that was completely an easy vote. Kristina needed to go just because Rob disliked her. Phillip, as annoying as he is, needed to stay. His vote was still needed. Therefore, this episode was just a seven of ten stars.
Photo courtesy of: CBS
I AM SURVIVORDEAN 
Sucked to see Russell go. I was shocked that he cried… I think that shows how hard he really does play the game and he isn’t playing for money or for his 15 minutes of (x3), but now he knows how and why people don’t like him at the end.
Ralph is in big trouble. The guy has to large of an ego for not really doing anything. He found the idol accidentally and got rid of Russell when it was decided from day one that he was going. If I was playing Ralph showing the other tribe the idol would be the last straw. If I was Zapetera I would attempt to get the idol from Ralph and vote him off. Ralph may be a liability.
Kristina needed to go and for someone like Rob who has played the game enough he got past the annoyance, which is Philip and got rid of the threat. Great move by Rob to find the idol. Come merge, my guess really soon, that idol will be huge since it looks like Ometepe will be down in numbers.
Also, Rob Cesternino thinks Phillip needs to go before merge because he’ll switch his vote. Rob said that because Phillip was going to lie to Rob about the duel and not tell him about the idol. I think since Phillip didn’t lie he can be trusted and even if he does swap the other tribe will just get tired of him and vote him off instead. What do you think?
LikeLike
It was a very emotional moment and for me it showed what Russell has given the game of Survivor. I believed the tears, they were genuine, I have read elsewhere different.
Ralph showed how much he knew about the game, giving up vital clues without even knowing it and Russell true to form to the end sucked as much info out Ralph for the other tribe to lap up.
I think if Phillip went in to the merge, Phillip would most definitly switch, he wants to take control now, but Phillip is a liability and not well liked so lasting til the merge might be hard especially for a team that is constantly visiting tribal council.
LikeLike
@MikeCif Without a doubt, Phillip is this season’s Coach. TV viewers hate him. I do find him quite annoying too. But what can we do? This is reality TV and Phillip creates a lot of drama. Like Coach, Phillip could go deep in this competition if other people decide to keep him. And, he is also the type of player who could easily be eliminated if the people around him want him gone.
@Rob Russel Hantz was completely devoured by his emotions. That moment was quite weird to watch but it is hard to rule out if it is truly genuine or he is just faking it. Perhaps, it’s a bit genuine considering this is his last time playing the game. Just imagine seeing Russel Hantz sitting at the far back during the reunion??? This will be sharp daggers in his ego for sure.
LikeLike
I think they were genuine. He puts a lot in the game and sucks to lose because his team throws a challenge and wants him out because of his name then playing strategy
LikeLike
@Mike Russel would have go farther in the game if and only if he did something new with his strategy. Now that he’s gone, who you are rooting for?
LikeLike
I honestly felt Russel’s emotion. It came from someone who definitely wants to win the game and has so much passion of playing. Some people might not like the way he plays or simply the way he threats people but I would rather want to see player who definitely wants to play the game and willing to fight as hard as they could rather than an extremely nice player who has no desire to win this game.
LikeLike
I think so too that Russell’s tears are real. The motive behind it? Not sure. But my best bet is that it was mainly because he was overwhelmed. For some reason, getting to the finals twice got into his head and he thinks he’s invincible. Losing made him realize that he was outsmarted and outplayed by a bunch of new castaways. Whatever excuse he made, his doings in the past finally caught up to him. One reason why he never should have come back, but I really think that was a humbling experience for him.
As for Matt, I was more than happy to see him survive. I got quite a scare right there when he failed the first time he tried his blocks and I think that Russell losing on his first try (allowing Matt a second chance) only shows that Matt was destined to stay. For how long? Who knows? But I do think Matt has kept up momentum and I think he has motivated himself enough to keep going. I think after Kristina, there must be at least one or two more duels left so that Matt can get right back into the game. (Fingers crossed on that)
Overall, this was my favorite episode so far 🙂 The vote off was quite predictable because the only thing that would have prevented Kristina from going home is if they won that immunity challenge. The choice between Phillip or Kristina going was a no-brainer. Remember what Rob said in the end, since a lot of people are so annoyed at Phillip, then that maybe one more reason to keep him around!
Exciting week next week! I can’t wait!
LikeLike
I’m not sure Russell was outplayed or outsmarted. From day one Russell was going. If someone found the idol purposely then he would have been outsmarted and outplayed.
I’m not sure who I’m rooting for yet… I like the strategic players more than anything. However, on Ometepe Rob seems to be the only strategic player. On Zapatera I’m still waiting to see who that is. Something tells me we’ll find out soon because with Russell officially gone it opens the door for a new snake. I’m not sure if it will be Mike or Dave though. I don’t think Steve or Ralph have a chance at being a good strategic playerm(and I don’t guy into Sarita being the leader, I really can’t understand how Russell came up with that. I don’t think their was a leader on zapatera yet)…. Ralph is self-explanatory and Steve last tribal council when he still tried to keep the act up that the team didn’t throw the challenge after Russell knew and Mike said everyone didn’t go 100%. Also, Steve seemed to be pretty ridiculous to think that telling Russell that Francesca won the duel would affect Russell in anyway. Those instances just don’t show me anything….
So, I’m not sure who I’m voting for…. Though I like Matt (seems like a cool guy) I don’t know if I want him to be the guy put back in the game cause he would get all the votes in the end… I still don’t like redemption island
O and whats up with Stephanie and Christa on Zapatera… The others seemed to forget that they were part of Russells alliance. The tribe looks like they’re giving them a second chance. I don’t think Christa is capable of going anything, but Stephanie looks like she’s a good player… that would be crazy if she pulled something off!
LikeLike
I can see Stephanie destroying the alliance of six. That would really suck to watch but I am sure it will stir the entire gameplan of Zapatera. All these things will be possible if she can find find a lil crack on the alliance and force herself to get inside it.
LikeLike
[…] game) or too possible (if it’s a mind game), this will be the most unforgettable upset since Matt beat Russel Hantz, […]
LikeLike