Note: Since I will be on the road for the final two episodes, I'll share my thoughts a bit early. So fair warning for spoilers to the end and beyond.

Episode 13 & 14AB(Finale) - 'Loose Lips Sink Ships' - 'Anything Could Happen' 'Anybody But Me' By Blind Freddy 5.12.10 It has seemed inevitable for awhile now that the Villains would manage this game until the bitter end no matter their petty bickering. The Heroes will soon be history with the departure of Rupert and then Colby in quick succession. Of course the easy pick to take to the end will be Russell as the goat for the Finale roast. But discerning what skill or strategy force brought at least one unlikely Finalist to the end is the more interesting point to discuss. Parvati has certainly played an open and strategic game to gain the F3. Russell has played a ruthless game of scorched Earth strategy and will suffer for his callousness. Sandra on the other hand has played an even more subdued game than her last winning season. But it is still a version of the 'anyone but me' gameplan. And she almost lost out earlier than she planned at Merge time. It was a matter of Russell's lust for power and control that saved Sandra. The overlooking of the obvious by the predator. The power of camouflage. It's a simple straight forward strategy that is known to everyone every step of the way. It appears harmless and ineffectual thus the successive overlooking the threat of a prior winner. However they did win before for a reason. Hidden in plain sight is the same strategy that the Chameleon uses as its defense. Anyone but me. It depends on the easy pickings going first, the visible threat becoming the priority at tribal Council. It's the shaping of weaker minds to do your bidding without them knowing it. It's the power of fitting into whatever form circumstances places you. It's the Chameleon defense of anyone but me. Congratulations to Sole Survivor Sandra Diaz-Twine on a game well played. Thanks for your readership and I'll hopefully see you again next season. Until then, I'll keep the fire stoked. And if you still have an appetite for even more Survivor spoils, next season for example, hit the jump that follows below.   S21 Location Spoilers >>

Episode 12 - 'A Sinking Ship'

'Blunt Force Trauma'

By Blind Freddy 5.06.10

Any Survivor episode that sends two cast home is a brutal experience for them. Just the shortened timeframe alone is enough to send the scrambling into high gear as we witnessed tonight. And it brought one cast member to tears of exhaustion.

As fascinating as it was to watch the storyline play out, the more interesting part was the gameplay of Russell that resembled a car stuck on the railroad tracks awaiting the inevitable trainwreck. The blunt force approach that Russell has used somewhat successfully both this season and last seems to have reached it maximum potential usage. And the trauma that he inflicted upon himself this episode is painstakingly apparent. There are only so many bridges you can burn before you're left without a grace saving retreat.

This turning point of the game was determined for him by his own actions. And he will ultimately face that decision straight up in the Final Jury Council should he make it that far. It's hard to understand why he would turn on his most solid alliance while the second Act is still on the stage. From the previews we see Russell trying to align with Rupert and Colby, offering them their only route to salvation. Somehow Russell has fulfilled the Hero delusion of an all Female alliance. That's a fairly difficult task to have accomplished even if he had intended to do so considering the sentiment that each of the remaining women had for each other not too long ago. And now they're sisters of revenge.

Actually this episode was an excellent teaching moment for any Survivor wannabes of the necessity for finesse in any winning strategy. While Russell swings a mighty hammer in his Survivor strategy, the resulting aftermath can only be described as blunt force trauma. And clearly none of those trauma victims will be likely to vote for him at any Final Tribal Council. So when Russell reflects on why he lost his second season in a row it can be easily pointed to this episode as the defining moment that was smashed into eternity by his very own actions.

Next time we're teased of Russell's overt betrayal of his alliance and foreshadowing of the inevitable powershift to the women who will control the game. Sandra's Hidden Immunity Idol will most certainly play a crucial role in how Russell will find himself Outwitted, Outplayed and OutSurvived.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 11 - 'Jumping Ship'

'Cruise Control'

By Blind Freddy 4.30.10 

Like something out of a Carnival Cruise excursion, this episode Survivor tried to float some lame challenges to entertain their passengers so they would forget where they were for a moment. Is Survivor now on cruise control? Apparently even that did not work when Wrestle Mania erupted in the Reward stateroom over a Hidden Immunity Idol clue. I just wish these Reality passengers would get as excited for the challenges as they do for their staterooms.

So are we to believe that these challenges are the BEST of the rest? Maybe we'll see Texas Hold'em next. I can just hear Jeff the dealer now..."And for Immunity....the River" I'll leave it at that.

And of course this Ship of Fools that Survivor has apparently become, needs a Cruise Director to keep things running smoothly. The only problem it seems is that she has a chip on her shoulder that's infecting the passengers with her bad attitude as well. But then maybe that's her game plan...'the anyone but me'...."who do you want me to vote for" strategy carefully hiding the deadly infection. 

Now the one thing you don't want to do on any boat no matter how large, is to rock the boat. And that's exactly what Amanda did this episode though it seems the tipping point was decided by Candice's timely departure from the Heroes quarters. With Amanda's indecision last episode contrasting with Candice's adaptation skills this episode, we can clearly see how timing your jump from the observation deck can prolong your seasickness aboard this Survival cruise.

Now of course the question on everyone's mind is just who will emerge to be the Captain of this ill fated voyage? And just how will they take charge of this motley collection of passengers? Will there be a mutiny? Or will the ship go down taking cast and crew with her to Davy Jones Locker?

One thing seems likely with this particular Cruise Director in charge and this being primarily a social cruise, that perhaps traitors and loud mouths could be among the next to be lost at sea.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 10 - 'Going Down in Flames'

'Secret Santa'

By Blind Freddy 4.22.10

The Merge episode is always an interesting one since the mingling of the two tribes always breathes fresh air into the storylines. And this time around was no exception. This group was especially festive in that there appeared to emerge one of the more typical holiday traditions when small community or office groups get together to celebrate an occasion.

In this case Parvati, the possessor of not one but two Hidden Immunity Idols, decided to play Secret Santa at Tribal Council to a couple of her tribemates. Neither of them seemed to have any clue to the gifting of the Hidden Immunity Idol. And even the Master Player Russell was blindsided by this particular move by Parvati.

Parvati it seems calculated the odds over quite a few possibilities and decided to go big or go home. First she had to decide whether Amanda would be faithful and protect her back and not make her a target by the Heroes (by leaking/planting seeds that Parvati might have the HII). Second, Parvati had to discern which of the Villains was the true target of the Heroes. This part didn't go as well with Parvati ultimately figuring the odds required her to cover all the [target] bases.....basically hedging her bet.

Additionally, Parvati had to discern whether the odds deemed it necessary to play both HIIs at Tribal Council.....or save one for use at a future strategic moment. Ultimately Parvati went with the bird in the hand over the two in the bush. But it did guarantee the Villain's supremacy for the rest of the game. And just as importantly, it bought some very precious brownie points with Sandra and Jerri that might pay off at some future strategic timeframe. The magnanimous of those moments at TC appear to easily supercede a similar move by Russell in his prior gifting of the HII to Parvati. Have these Villains risen to new heights of humanity in their generosity? In reality they both are playing the Pay-It-Forward move.

The funny and interesting part is that Parvati beat Russell at his own game. Now Russell finds himself being wagged by Parvati. The loser in all this was of course JT who bought Russell's tale hook line and sinker. Another potential loser was Amanda in that she was both betrayed by Parvati and shown to be completely indecisive in her strategic thinking at such an important turning point in the game. The question now is: will she pay for it?

And if the preview for next episode comes to fruition Sandra will emerge from her cocoon to take charge of the game. Will Russell find himself at the mercy of her venom? Sandra at the very least will make Russell squirm. And since we already know that Parvati also loves to see others squirm, we might even see some tag teaming on poor Russell. Irony would be the understatement of the day if the Female Villainess Alliance dreamed up by the Heroes actually does come to pass by a most round about route.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 9 - 'Survivor History'

'Down The Rabbit Hole'

By Blind Freddy 4.15.10

As Survivor's hapless Heroes stumble along through a Reality game they should know well, Survivor is set up next episode for the second stage of one of its most historic blunders. And like the current reigning champion, Erik, it's spearheaded by one of Survivor's more likeable alumni, JT.

Now whom could be a better foil to precipitate this blunder than the Villain tribe's own Cheshire Cat, Russell. It would seem Russell is now having people just give him Hidden Immunity Idols out of the clear blue sky. And now that Parvati is joining in the 'Find the Idol' game, the Survivor Art Department is hard pressed to keep up with the two of them.

And what a gracious recipient Russell was [sarcasm]...though I did notice the trace of a familiar smile by Russell on the floating challenge platform when Colby gave him the news of the Idol gifting. Almost like that of the famous Cheshire Cat of Wonderland fame.

But this is no Wonderland and the Merge strategy path that the Heroes are headed toward is no Rabbit Hole. And yet the lure of the Cheshire Cat is too great to resist. Even the Survivor 'Queen'-apparent Parvati, has been enraptured by him, though that may be fading just as the Cheshire Cat did in Wonderland.

The one intriguing question remaining is just what kind of magic will Russell spin to direct the Hero's historic crucial next round of post-Merge votes down the toilet rabbit hole. The preordained target of the Heroes will be Parvati. But what if she uses her Hidden Immunity Idol for safety or better yet convinces Russell to give her his new acquisition. Or perhaps there's even yet another more interesting variation out there giving this historic Survivor blunder even more drama legs.

Only the Probster, the Queen and the Cheshire Cat know for sure. Wouldn't it be just classic if at the end of the season when the Final Tribal Council torch lights went out...all that remained was the grin of that amazing Cheshire Cat?

Ah but that only happens in Fairy Tales, right?

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 7 - 'I'm Not a Good Villain'

'Rules of Engagement'

By Blind Freddy 4.02.10

There's been a lot of discussion lately among Survivor fans and pundits about the proper way to play the game. About whether 'Old School' might be more pure of a test of surviving your castmates than 'New School'. There's even been dialogue on-air about what constitutes an 'honorable' game.

I imagine this has been brought to the surface because of the mixture of castaways from earlier seasons mixed with castaways from more recent seasons. For a moment there I almost mistook that this was an 'oldtimers' baseball game dialogue. You can almost hear it drifting down from the bleachers...."Yeah I remember back when Survivor was a real man's game...we gave our word and stuck to it"...yada yada yada.

Wait What? Are you kidding me? Some of these thoughts are coming from Survivor players of epic, one might even say historic levels of game playing achievement. There's talk of honor, of fairness, of dignity. Wait What? When was Survivor fair?....when Boston Rob lied to Lex in heart strung love tones about Amber? When Jonny Fairplay's grandmother sacrificed her virtual life for his game strategy? When any of the 'Old Schoolers' lied straight faced to a longtime alliance partner so they could advance in the game? Survivor has never been 'fair'....never been 'honorable' and never been about 'dignity'.

Survivor has always been about Outplaying, Outwitting and Outlasting your competitors. And doing so in whatever fashion gets the job done. While lying and scheming were supposedly accepted techniques even by 'Old Schoolers', apparently many of them have taken history revisionist theory courses in Survivor post-graduate school.


To actually propose 'rules of engagement' for Survivor seems preposterous beyond imagination. So I don't understand the current thinking behind some of these discussions. Survivor has always been and should always be about competing mentally and physically to be the last man or woman standing. How you get there is what the discussion seems to be about; exactly what the 'rules of engagement' should be. Are we talking about how low you should stoop to advance in the game before it is unacceptable? How many people you are allowed to betray, to lie to, to backstab before it is unacceptable. How many people you are allowed to flirt with, sleep with before it is unacceptable? How far you push the official SEG rules of the game before you cross the line?

Every winner of Survivor has had to make the hard decision that read to their own personal morals. Should they be held accountable for their actions? Are their 'rules of engagement' more moral than yours would be? 

In my mind Survivor is a TV show, a scripted version of Reality devised for Television Network profits. It's a game...sometimes a very mean spirited, nasty game that mirrors the harsh realities of our own everyday life. Life is not fair. It never has been and never will be. And neither should be Survivor.

'Rules of Engagement'?....Every Survivor contestant should be thinking "we don't need no stinking Rules of Engagement", before they ever set foot on any Survivor island.

Until next time....I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 6 - 'Banana Etiquette'

'A Bird in Hand'

By Blind Freddy 3.25.10

Once again Survivor's examination of the human thought process is brought to the forefront in perplexing fashion. Almost every season we see at least one cast member make a decision that seems illogical and has the viewer scratching their head saying: 'What was he thinking?' This episode fans want to know: 'What was Tyson thinking?' (with his Tribal Council vote). Fortunately we have the answer directly from the horse's....err...Tyson's mouth:

"When I was on my way to Tribal I thought if Parvati and Danielle vote Russell, he'll be out, and I wanted Parvati out first. I thought, if they're smart they're gonna vote for Russell, to save themselves, and I'm gonna be one step even smarter and vote Parvati, so she'll think, 'Oh I'm so smart, I'm going to protect myself by voting Russell out', then I'll have the upper hand. In the end, that wasn't the case. C'est la vie."

In this case, Tyson chose a risky 'Two in the bush' gambit with a Parvati boot vote choice over a much more certain 'Bird in the hand' play with a Russell boot choice. Why? Any student of the Survivor game learns in short order that the game can change at a moment's notice. The prudent choice...the time-tested choice...and one could argue, the AllStar choice might be to take the 'given' over the 'unseen'.

When you're in a 'Food Auction' and you choose the unseen under a basket, you're hoping for a steak dinner. But when a glass of dirty pond water appears, disappointment overtakes you but it's not a game ending decision. But boot choices can be game ending decisions for someone besides the intended target. 

In a similiar manner Russell made a choice on unseen merchandise. The difference being that Russell was backed into a corner with his fate apparently sealed by BostonRob. Russell gambled that he could convince one of the opposing alliance to succumb to their individual greed. Russell was betting on human nature whereas Tyson was trying to Outwit human nature. Granted, Russell had a venue to make a play to sway the odds in his favor via his fake 'save myself before Parvati' gambit to Tyson. Perhaps Tyson bought into it because he viewed Russell as greedy and self serving. Often when viewing others the innate option is to assume they think like you do. Thus Tyson fell into a trap of his own making executed by the perfect foil, human nature. That said, Russell's perfect foil will also likely be his own downfall in the long run. However in the short run, Russell stepped up to the plate and made the hard choice...the AllStar choice to play the game of Survivor...in his own words:

"...this is a chance I have to take. This is my only opportunity to stay in the game. I could save myself and vote Parvati out tonight, but I want to go to the top two or three in this game, I don't want to go to the top seven."

Episode 4 - 'Tonight, We Make Our Move'

'Idol Adultery'

By Blind Freddy 3.05.10

With the Hidden Immunity Idol issue finally brought to the surface at both tribes, we saw different takes on the method of their implementation into the game. The Heroes were basically beside themselves scurrying amongst the foliage in search of either salvation or subjugation. Salvation ruled the day. With every choice made is a possible opportunity passed. And with information long vital to Survivor gameplay, why did Amanda not explore what possibilities might arise in Tom's HII find? Instead she ran to spill the details to her alliance. She'll never know what could have been.

While in the meantime, the Villains took a different approach...shoot the messenger (well...the seeker anyway). But knowing your bedfellows is crucial in Survivor. And little do they know whom they are sleeping with...Mr. Idol Adultery himself. And while they were quick to place a target on Russell's back, they have no idea(well except perhaps Parvati) just how adept Russell is at finding those HIIs.

Now we didn't get to see any real action on the Villain HII front since much of their footage was devoted to favored players facetimes. And storyline stroking and TC poking it was, as the Fan Favorite million dollar edit weaves its way through this season. It may not turn out how CBS hopes. I personally think the fans can figure it out for themselves without any edit steering.

With pre-season spoilers pretty much ruining any blindsides for the fans, we're left to wonder if Cirie pushed her agenda too hard. From post boot interviews we find Cirie was left with few choices and fewer space to wiggle this time around. But that's Survivor, where info and adaptation are crucial to longevity. Perhaps only a tribal swap could have widened her options, we'll never know.

So with the Knights of the Roundtable descending upon us next episode, we'll be wondering how Villains become Knights and how Heroes become Villains. Of course it might all be in the eye of the beholder, depending on if they're swinging at windmills or just producing a TV show.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

Episode 3 - 'That Girl is Like a Virus'

'Lorem Ipsum Parvati'
as translated from the original Latin text:
"de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum" (The Extremes of Good and Evil) by Cicero 45 B.C.

By Blind Freddy 2.25.10

Lorem Ipsum is a tool of the printing and typesetting industry used to fill in empty gaps in a page layout to simulate an printing entity to be edited for visual beauty and balance.

In a somewhat similar manner, Parvati is a tool that Survivor uses to fill in the storyline gaps and intrigue pauses in an attempt to attain an edited product of beauty and balance.

Both products are defined as dummy filler meant to be viewed, manipulated and cropped into an acceptable layout. In this writer's eye, the Survivor editors seem to know their craft.

Fortunately, lurking in the shadows and peeking out from behind the frayed edges that Survivor twenty times over has become, lies the real text to this script. Only after being forced out of her modus operandi at Tribal Council was her voice finally heard. Contrasting her Black Widow opponents, this villain mimics the Brown Recluse. Which is just as deadly as its more well known sisters.

And as this season progresses with the self destruction of both tribes per the mandates of the Survivor game, the lorem ipsum will become less required and the more interesting text of this Reality story will be told by the editors.

In the meantime, as the preview for the next episode suggests, the island's Hidden Idol looks to be a factor in a power play. Someone's going to get 'Idoled' and they'll never see it coming. Ah, Survivor at its best.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

---

Episode 2 - 'It's Getting The Best of Me'

'The Art of War'...or why the bus stops for no (wo)man

By Blind Freddy 2.18.10

Well at least James has learned something from his prior Survivor experiences (besides learning to play the damn Idol if you have it) though we have yet to see whether he's lost his taste for apples. It would seem that James has learned the Art of War, the central theme from his Survivor China season.

In a proactive move (hopefully), James targeted a chief rival while simultaneously neutralizing any boot momentum toward himself (at least for this episode). In other words, James jumped into the bus driver's seat, threw it into gear and proceeded to drive the bus directly over Stephanie. She's probably still wiping tire tread marks off of her back as we speak.

In a move yet to be fully played out to its end, Cirie and Candice chose to side with momentum. Whether it was just the hot air billowing from James that swept them to his side or some other plan...we'll just have to wait to see if that was the best choice. But it was a defining moment for the fate of them both nevertheless.

However even the RobM dehydration drama couldn't spark life into this episode without the hand of the editors as they applied tried and true scripting to (hopefully) ride the LOST storyline coattails to ratings bliss. It would now appear that we are to see the Survivor version of how there's a little bit of villain in every hero. But surely James is no Jack so I think JJ Abrams is probably sleeping quite well tonight...nothing to see here.

And as the 'War' of good vs evil trudges along into next episode, it would seem James is on the brink of pulling a Sawyer, that of uncontrolled...ummm enthusiasm. Will it set up his downfall? Perhaps whomever plays Mr Smokey will make an appearance to save him.

Until next time, I'll keep the fire stoked.

The Calm Before The Storm
By Blind Freddy 2.11.10

Ten years and 20 seasons is a long time to maintain loyalty and expectations, especially for a television show. And while a season packed full of AllStars gives the best chance for the flow of success to continue, web spoilers have revealed most all of the boot order and many of the other details of this season. The past few seasons have been spoiled quite heavily, but at least there were a few gaps. This season seems not to be the case. Thus since it would be very hard to write up a creative article each week, I'm going to try something different and write about some aspect of the episode that speaks to me. If down the road the spoiled boot order proves to be less than perfect than maybe they'll be room for creativity.

So off we go for a 2 hour premiere. A good move on Production's part allowing a plethora of strategy to be aired. Of course with all these veterans we would expect nothing less. The most surprising pair up might be of Coach and Jerri, the Dragon and the Black Widow....who dat? That made Jerri and Coach almost seem sweet. Perhaps the strangest not-to-be pair might have been Colby being chased by Sugar to no effect. Perhaps some of that was strategy on her part sensing her endangerment.

Biggest move of the episode: RobM, stepping up and making fire....from scratch. Now I'm not a big RobM fan but that was impressive dude! And the biggest miss...Rupert's failed fire start even with flint. Not looking good, buddy especially with the broken toe. You'd better pick up your game and quick!

And speaking of injuries...Steph took a bigtime bullet bite with her shoulder dislocation. Once again a true survivor. I was kind of surprised that the Steph boot bait thrown out there wasn't jumped upon more heavily.

Conspicuously absent in challenges/camp/alliance footage were Sandra, Tyson, Courtney. So that would seem to merit some longevity for them in the game for the near term at least. Did Tyson even have a line? Of course Danielle was not far behind in the invisibility department.

So all in all it was a good premiere. Survivor fans got what they hoped for: lots of strategy time, some good hard fought challenges with even a couple injuries (though no fan wants to see serious injuries). There was even some romance thrown in to add to the survivor stew. The only thing missing was drama but I'm sure we'll get plenty of that down the road when the set ups and  backstabbings begin. In the meantime, this was a nice calm before the storm to get re-acquainted with our Survivor favorites. For myself, that was a nice change to just enjoy their personalities and not have to worry about what all the drama meant.

So what's in store for next time? The preview has RobM collapsing in the jungle apparently on his own. It might be a possible dehydration issue which would likely mean a quick recovery. In any event we know SEG has lots of 'copters to draw upon for evacs if needed. Let's hope that's not the case.

So that's it for now, I'll keep the fire stoked.