Survivor Insights 99: Redemption Island – “Tming is Everything” (Episode 11)

1) The Ometepe Dominance: I seem to agree with Jeff Probst when he said in his V-blog that the remaining final six are all from Ometepe. The alliance between Boston Rob and Grant are going stronger day-by-day and it’s curious to see if how and when those three girls (Natalie, Ashley & Andrea) break that bond. It is now clear that Grant and Boston Rob are head to head in terms of winning individual immunity challenges. They already won two challenges apiece and they are threats in all departments. Boston Rob might not be an expert in a challenge that involves balance and stamina but he could clearly perform at his best in puzzles and memorization. Natalie and Andrea won the first and second individual immunity challenges, respectively, however, I observed consistency is not their cup of coffee. When Grant and Boston Rob start to dominate, the two girls remain powerless.

In terms of social game, Phillip is without a doubt at the bottom of the pole. Everyone in the camp disliked him. Ashley and Natalie don’t even want to talk with him but whatever angle you’ll look at, Phillip has the biggest chance of making the finals. Everybody needs him now and whoever in the Redemption Island will go back, he’ll surely need Phillip to protect himself.

2) Ralph then Steve: Predictable as it seems, this double elimination is a lot better than the episode in which Mike and David were eliminated. There’s no enough  reason why Ometepe Six should keep Ralph or Steve and it would be a baloney idea if they blindside Andrea. I doubt if she’ll go back in Matt’s open arms should he come back. Andrea is a person of her own. She’s in fact not in the most powerful position and not tight with Natalie and Ashley. In fact, Andrea has many options to win. It’s not yet too late to make “risky” moves. Timing is everything  as they say and hopefully, Andrea still could control her hunger + paranoia and fight for her life next week.

Of the three girls, should there be a female alliance, Ashley or Natalie do not deserve the title (as of the moment). They may appear very competitive in challenges but I don’t see any impressive moves in their game. I got two questions:

• Why do they have to report to Boston Rob about everything?
• Are they protecting Rob or are they just too dependent on him to create good decisions?

I am aware that Rob is like a brother to Natalie and she’ll be devastated if Rob will be cut. The big problem here is, this is not the game should be played. Either Natalie or Ashley can’t win against Rob and that’s a fact.

3) The Redemption Island: What supposed to be a duel and only one castaway will survive, it has now turned to four-person-duel and I do not have a clue when will the last member be allowed to go back in the game. I still couldn’t get it why Redemption Island still exist after the merge or after the three-person-duel among Mike, Matt and David. Matt has only played the game for six days and I seem to know he’ll earn the sympathy votes should he make the final three or final two. If anyone in the four deserves a chance, that should be Mike. We have seem him play the game. We have seen how Mike helped his group win challenges and we have seen his hunger and competitiveness in duels. It’s clear Matt’s biggest rival is Mike. This is the Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal in tennis and you know what, even Matt showed how consistent he was in duels like Rafa in winning tournaments, it would just be fair for the greatest of all time who don’t only have the consistency but the overall game to seize the crown.

Episode Rating: 7 of 10 stars

Photo courtesy of: CBS