4/27 Show Discussion Thread **Spoilers**

[Maybaybie]

I don't think he's worried about Grant. Grant has always been #2 in command and no one votes for the #2 (well, except in the Russell/Natalie finale).
Rob figures he'll take Philip to the finals and all his loyal followers will still vote for him when they are sitting on the jury. I love Rob- I won't deny it- and I hope he wins, however I don't see where all these people's logic is. Steve's idea was a good one for the girls. Where exactly do they think they will get by staying under Rob's thumb? If the 3 girls had gone with Steve and Ralph- they would have had the numbers to vote out Rob and then Grant and then they could've pulled Philip in and turned on Ralph and Steve. Then it would've just been the 3 girls and Philip {{{{shudder}}}} and they could catfight it out until someone would have been crowned the least deserved winner ever.

I like how it's going right now, but it really isn't smart on anyone's part.

[JavaJo]

I'm actually loving this season. And starting next week..it's about to get really fun!

[mushybrain]

Pretty dull episode. The twist of a double boot was about the most exciting thing, but we knew who was going before TC happened. I wish they'd change up tribe dynamics somehow. Either start everyone off in the same, gigantic tribe, or have them pick new tribes every episode. At least it might make game play more interesting.

I have long wished that they would do this, and then just select new teams for every challenge. This would create bonding between/among different people and would make it far more difficult to form and keep alliances. I think one large tribe would provide for some interesting dynamics that have not been seen before.

[Tilden]

I'd love to see one of the girls go next, but I'm also thinking it could be Grant. I think Rob wants one of the girls and Phillip in the final 3 with him, if he makes it. He can point out Natalie/Ashley/Andrea did nothing and Phillip is crazy. I do like Matt, and am glad he's hanging in there. I also liked Julie, so I was sorry she didn't get to stick around.

I'd be highly surprised if Rob's ultimate plan wasn't to take either Natalie or Ashley and Phillip with him to the final three, no matter what he's saying to anyone else. He can't afford to take Grant, because Grant has a legitimate argument he can make with regard to why he should win--he was a dominant force in the challenges. There's a possibility the jury might find Andrea more likable, or at least less offensive, than Rob, so she's a possible liability too. But, as you pointed out, Phillip is nuts, and the two girls don't have much of an argument to make on their behalf other than to say they "stayed under the radar" and rode the right set of coattails. If either of them want to win, they really need to figure out how to get rid of Rob and make that their claim to fame. Otherwise, the only chance they have is that the jury finds the other two people in the final three so distasteful that they are the lesser of three evils.

If Matt makes it to the finals by dominating the RI challenges, he can use that to argue that he's worthy of a win. No matter how anyone feels about RI, it was part of the game this season, and Matt was very good at those challenges. Whether that's enough for the jury to give him the money is up to them. I'm sure Rob would rather not have him make it to the jury just because he would have any kind of argument to make. He wants people with him who have zero argument with which to defend themselves.

[Maybaybie]

Do we know for sure whether it's a Final 2 or Final 3 this time around?

[imissme]

This season is just now going to get interesting (I hope) now that the entire ZAP tribe is either gone or at least off on RI. The amount of time the producers are devoting to Matt scares me. If he does come back from RI I am not going to be very happy. So the man sat in a shelter for 30+ days, he hasnt done any of the game and shouldnt win on his ability to survive being on RI.

If I were Rob I would be scared to death of Grant. Grant can win challanges, Grant isnt under Rob's thumb, Grant can put all the blame for the way the people get voted out on Rob, and come out with relatively clean hands at final tribal.

I hope that one of the challenges on RI is going to get some food to those people, Steve needs food!

[mesachick]

So the Zap's are finally gone. I guess we still can't count them out completely yet considering three of them are sitting at RI. I've really been enjoying this season. I'm going to guess that Andrea is gone next week. Then it should get interesting to see whom turns on who. I am still rooting for Rob to win!

[ironcat]

I don't think he's worried about Grant. Grant has always been #2 in command and no one votes for the #2 (well, except in the Russell/Natalie finale).
Rob figures he'll take Philip to the finals and all his loyal followers will still vote for him when they are sitting on the jury. I love Rob- I won't deny it- and I hope he wins, however I don't see where all these people's logic is. Steve's idea was a good one for the girls. Where exactly do they think they will get by staying under Rob's thumb? If the 3 girls had gone with Steve and Ralph- they would have had the numbers to vote out Rob and then Grant and then they could've pulled Philip in and turned on Ralph and Steve. Then it would've just been the 3 girls and Philip {{{{shudder}}}} and they could catfight it out until someone would have been crowned the least deserved winner ever.

I like how it's going right now, but it really isn't smart on anyone's part.

I agree that there was some validity to Steve's plan, (and if he and Ralph were at all perceptive about the Ometepe tribe dynamics, they should have known to approach Andrea first, as she is the one most likely to consider it), but I suspect that the RI twist, and the fact that nobody knows how and when that will disrupt the course of events, is part of what is keeping any of the Omes from changing course right now. Not to mention the fact that the young girls all really like Rob and find the idea of his company A LOT more appealing than being stuck with Steve and Ralph until the end. Yes, that's not a very strategic way of looking at things, but I don't doubt that it is partially influencing their justification for sticking with Rob right now.

It also seems Rob has done a very good job of convincing everyone but Andrea that they are part of his F3 endgame alliance, so it would have been hard for the Zaps to offer them a better deal than what they think they already have. And further, each one believes it's in his/her best interest to keep the plans to him/herself and not share info/compare notes with anyone else. And he's now established in their minds that the one "outsider", Andrea, is not to be trusted. In that sense, Rob's psychological gameplay has been quite brilliant.

[Brooks]

It also seems Rob has done a very good job of convincing everyone but Andrea that they are part of his F3 endgame alliance . . . And further, each one believes it's in his/her best interest to keep the plans to him/herself and not share info/compare notes with anyone else

Amateurs. Overlapping promises are what they should expect.

[march]

Wow what a BORING eposide. I have been watching Survivor since season 1 and last night was the first time I actually picked up the remote and considered channel surfing during the show. The whole show was so predictable. You can tell the they don't have any drama to show us when we have to watch Phillip find his shorts and watch him dance on the beach about it and then watch him sitting wiggling his toes all happy.
They really should have had a switch or two before the merge.