Episode 11 - Who doesn't like cheeseburgers?

Soooo, this post is going up a little late. Sorry about that. Life... 

I'll do better this week. The blog for tonight's episode will go up by Thursday night (tomorrow) so get your comments in quick on this one.  

I'm keeping this episode's blog to the good stuff, but here's a quick recap since most of you watched the episode a full week ago. 

We start of with Dan claiming that he has some plans brewing and is going to be making moves. Will and Shirin are still beefing. The reward challenge divides up the teams. It's insignificant to the pool because each pool team has a tribe member on each reward challenge team. Tyler, Dan, Carolyn, and Will win the reward by taking their time and not powering through the barrel / plank / balance challenge. They win cheeseburgers and a ride on a boat. Rodney still hasn't been on the winning side of a reward. 

Sierra tells everyone back at camp that Tyler is going to win. Rodney says that he is running the show and Tyler is not a threat. 

The immunity challenge is a weight/endurance challenge with 25% of a person's weight spooled onto a rope that they have to keep spooled. I found it interesting that they based the weight off the contestant's beginning weight and not their day-of weight. Slight advantage to those that haven't lost a ton of weight (and probably came in more fit overall). Jeff surprises the tribe by announcing that there will be a male and female winner. Seems fine if there were even gender numbers left, but it's 5 male and only 3 female. Better odds for the ladies. Producer influence or pre-set coincidence? 

In a huge step forward for Maxahalfmillion, Carolyn and Mike both win adding 12 quick points to AndBag's total. Sierra was first out, so she earned a negative point. Rodney's dedication to the gym didn't pay off for this one. 

Shirin does her best to scramble back at camp but seems to be the target regardless. Tyler ends up reading Dan's extra vote advantage and shares with Carolyn. Note to any of us that could eventually end up on the show: hide your clues away from camp and not in your bag!  Tyler revels in the fact that Dan seems very loyal. 

Tribal: Hali was definitely hungover for this one. The no-collars must be partying it up at Ponderosa. Dan tries to poorly compare being adopted to domestic abuse and Will won't apologize for being mean to Shirin last episode. 

Then (what I thought was a GREAT PLAY, and I hope to hear your thoughts on it), in a last ditch effort to save Shirin, Mike reveals, before the vote, that he has an idol and will be playing it for Shirin. This is key, because he says that Shirin will vote for Tyler, and he will vote for one of the remaining 5, to be unnamed. 1st, this calls Tyler out as a threat and gives potential opportunity to remove said threat. 2nd, it puts everyone else that doesn't vote for Tyler on blast for potentially going home. 3rd, if he had convinced everyone, or mostly everyone, to not vote Shirin, and still didn't play his idol for her, him and Shirin are both in the game still and he has an idol. 

They vote with these results:

tyler -> dan 

shirin -> tyler

dan -> shirin

mike -> tyler (lied b/c he said he would vote for someone else)

will -> dan

caroline -> shirin

sierra -> shirin

rodney -> shirin

  
Shirin loses out and has to go home, but Mike still wins because now he has caused quite the shake up for this strong 6. The only downfall is that he had to reveal his idol to do it, but it seems well worth it. Tyler and Will will be in some very hot water over their "Dan" votes. Mike should be able to at least explore some new alliance cracks. He has his idol (but can he play it correctly?) and he has been crushing the immunities. 

This move, at this point in the season, with a lack of a clear favorite, would cause me to vote Mike the winner if he can make it to the end. Still lots to happen, but I applaud this move. Nicely done, Mike. Way to never give up and cause as much trouble as possible when you're on the outs.  

The Teams and Points:
(Parentheses indicate order players were picked) 

AndBag: "Maximillion" - 43 points

1. [Max (2) - 3 pts] - out 3rd 
2. Carolyn (7) - 21 pts 
3. [Lindsey (10) - -1 pts] - out 2nd 
4. Mike (15) - 20 pts 

Michal & Ben: "Jennicide" - 94 points

1. [Shirin (4) - 30 pts] - out 9th 
2. [Jenn (5) - 41 pts] out 8th
3. [Joaquin (11) - 8 pts] out 4th 
4. Dan (14) - 15 pts 

Moon & Melissa: "Livin' On A Prayer" - 81 points

1. [Joe (1) - 42 pts] out 7th
2. [Kelly (8) - 9 pts] out 5th 
3. Will (12) - 15 pts 
4. Sierra (13) - 15 pts

Doug & Bri: "Jacked for a Reason, Bro" - 51 points

1. Tyler (3) - 23 pts 
2. [Hali (6) - 20 pts] out 6th 
3. Rodney (9) - 13 pts 
4. [Nina (16) - -5 pts] out 1st

Doug's Power Rankings:

This Survivor season's power rankings are about as reliable as Doug (me) posting up the blog promptly after an episode. 

1. Maximillion - Big point leap this episode. Both players have an immunity idol. Potential for final 3 and winner in both Carolyn and Mike. Biggest potential to win points by a long shot.   
2. Jennicide - They have a slight point lead over LOAP (which immediately disappears with jury points going to Will or Sierra), but Dan has the potential to win more points than Sierra and Will IMO. Jennicide and LOAP will be racing next to each other right down to the end. 
3. Livin' On A Prayer - Placed here for the reasons above. 
4. Jacked For A Reason - Tyler can't seem to win immunities and we are way back on points. Tyler also seems to be a threat to most of the others as soon as a clear target is no longer available. 

What do you think?

Douche of the Week:

Not a ton of options this week. I'm giving my vote to Will for not apologizing to Shirin for his off the handle comments from last week. Jeff gave him the opportunity. He denied. The hate runs deep, but he looks like a Douche on national TV because of it. 

Dan certainly seems to be a reasonable option as well for his adoption comparison. I feel like we didn't hear his whole story, but what we did see made him seem pretty douchey.