Redemption Island: Episode 6

I think the social game is playing a bigger part in this season of Survivor than it ever has before, although I simply may not have been paying that much attention before. Or maybe it's because Boston Rob is the ultimate puppet master & does a very nice job of explaining to the fans what he's doing and why. In any case, I really like watching him serve as the ref in the Saggy Bottom Panties Cage Match: Ashley v. Phillip. Somehow he's making this zany group work as a team, and no one else can claim any credit for helping with the group dynamic. If Rob wasn't there I think they would have lost every single challenge this season. Outside of Rob there is no brains and no heart.

Also interesting was Purple Team's decision-making at tribal council. I think that if someone besides David had campaigned to get Stephanie to stay, she might have had a chance. But Dave is already a bottom-dweller in his alliance, and his opinion has very little merit. Still, a good effort on his & Stephanie's part, and I hope to see her again!


The Standings
 
Team Cockydoodlebug: Doug/Bri - 53 pts
1. Grant (15 pts)
2. Rooster (23 pts)
3. Andrea (15 pts)

Team #Winning!: Moon - 51 pts
1. Boston Rob (25 pts)
2. David (13 pts)
[3. Krista (13 pts)]

Team Saggy Bottom Panties: Me - 45 pts
1. Phillip (15 pts)
2. Ashley (15 pts)
3. Natalie (15 pts)

Team Evil Crushell: Courtney - 36 pts
[1. Evil Russell (10 pts)]
2. Sarita (11 pts)
3. Julie (15 pts)

Team Fabioesque: Dachui - 34 pts
1. Mike (15 pts)
2. Matt (4 pts)
3. Stephanie (15 pts)

Team Haterz Gonna Hate: Bag - 25 pts
[1. Francesca (0 pts)]
[2. Kristina (10 pts)]
3. Steve (15 pts)


Power Rankings

1. Team Cockydoodlebug - Again, Doug/Bri's team comes out looking really strong, although they are minus one t-shirt now... a devastating blow, I'm sure. Besides that, there's not much to criticize. As a team, they're the most physical team, the 2nd-most mental team, they're in the best alliances, and they have the best hairdos. That's tough to beat!

2. Team #Winning! - Boston Rob continues to hold his tribe together & impress with his long-term view of this game. Obviously his experience with the game gives him a huge advantage, but he also has a huge target on his back because of it. At this point I really don't see anyone on his tribe being smart enough to blindside him out of the game, but once they merge there will be some Purple players targeting him. It might not matter if the Yellow Tribe comes in with a majority of players though. Plus, Rob probably already has 3 plans laid out for taking out the other tribe already.

3. Team Fabioesque - No matter what happens next week, Fabioesque will be down to 2 players. It's a sad fate that this team is stuck in "Minimal Points Land," aka Redemption Island. Matt is one of the toughest competitors in this game, but he's only earning minimum wage. If he & Mike both make it to the merge, then Dachui could really make a comeback, but in the meantime they won't be earning much very quickly.

4. Saggy Bottom Panties - Aka team Stealth R Us: Specialist Forces. The intellect of my team combined probably equals that of a 7th grader's, and they are all physically weak too. They're earning points now, but even if they all make it to the merge I have no expectation that they'll contribute anything to my team.

5. Evil Crushell - Things keep getting worse in the Crushell camp. Purple team is collapsing & Sarita now looks like she's in the bottom 2 on her team. Julie's strong & I think she can go far, but one player being the sole breadwinner for a team has not worked well for us in the past.

6. Team Haterz Gonna Hate - What's the deal with Steve? His inexplicable explosion over Stephanie & Krista's decision to vote for him was bizarre to say the least. Maybe that's the first time someone told him he was old? It'd be pretty bad timing to have a mid-life crisis while on Survivor. Steve needs to grow some thicker skin and quickly, because the blows to the ego only get more painful from here on out.