Richie Glanzer will be writing a blog all season long for Rob Has a Website as we continue to cover “Survivor: One World” from every conceivable angle. Click Here to Read more About Rich
We’re going to change it up a little here. Posting my blog on Monday as a recap/preview made little sense since there were a million recaps out by then. So from now on, we are going to put the blog out on Tuesday, and preview the next episode. Of course, I don’t watch previews so that could hurt my effectiveness, but it still should be fun. Richie’s Hero, Heel and Thoughts will all remain.
Now on to the preview…
In my last entry, I was very hopeful that Christina Cha would get all the guys together and vote those dastardly ladies out. Yet when Wednesday night rolled around, I had lost much hope and realized that was not going to happen as the new Salani Tribe was going to eliminate the Manono Tribe one by one and Jonas was going to go. Although it was more entertaining than I would have thought, that’s exactly what happened.
So is it time to consider the next few weeks the calm before the storm? Are the next four to go Phillip…errr…I mean Tarzan, Leif, Christina and Alicia? I’m guessing no.
You can call me a flip-flopper, but it wouldn’t be fair. Previously, I had picked Tarzan to come in fourth and Jay to win but everything changed once Colton left. Though Jay is by far the best male player besides Colton, that’s like saying Brandon was the second best Hantz ever to play Survivor – there’s really no competition. When I interviewed Marty Piombo from Survivor Nicaragua more than two weeks ago, he said, “Excluding Colton, I don’t know how many of the guys are demonstrating that much gamesmanship. I don’t see it any of those guys.”
He ain’t blind, it’s just not there. In my first blog entry, I said Matt, Bill, Jay and Mike’s alliance reminded me of Survivor Borneo, the very first season of Survivor. Sadly, nothing has changed. If you recall in Survivor Borneo, at the merge, Richard Hatch created an alliance and the majority stuck together and voted the other tribe out. The losing tribe, voted for each other so they wouldn’t offend the other tribe.
Tarzan voting for Jonas, Jonas calling out Michael and Leif shrugging his shoulders and voting for Michael just reeked of, “I have never watched Survivor since Borneo.” I was really hoping Christina could galvanize the men and get them to band together, but there was no realistic shot there. Sabrina, Chelsea and Kim are the clear power players, making all the decisions and it’s only a matter of time before they realize, “Jay and Mike are pretty athletic, lets get rid of them.”
I think the next two weeks are going to be pretty standard. Tarzan and Leif are not threats, so I think they will vote out Tarzan first, and then Leif. I do think Jay and Christina will realize what is going on, but by then, I’m not sure they will be able to do anything about it. With Kat, the girls have a solid and loyal four and they would just need to bring Alicia into the fold for the majority once Tarzan and Leif are voted out.
The only thing that can save the men is Troyzan’s hidden Immunity Idol, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he told one of the girls in power and they blindside him before he can play it. My prediction is Tarzan, Leif and then a blindside of one of the remaining men. If the men are going to make their move, they need to do so this week. They won’t.
Richie’s Hero: Kat
The underestimating of Kat needs to stop. When Kat helped blow the second IC by jumping in the water a thousand times, there was a groundswell of support to get rid of her. She’s dumb, a terrible athlete and she shot JR. No, no and probably. For me, Kat reminds me of Fabio and Sophie, two past winners. Her temperament is perfect for Survivor. She doesn’t let the downs get her too low and she always seems to have an upbeat attitude. When Tarzan said they were going to vote for her, she reacted perfectly, wanting to know why, without taking it personally.
She reminds me of Sophie, because Sophie showed a lot of heart in the challenges, which is why she was able to defeat Ozzy in the last one. Though Kat came up short, I liked that she was upset she lost, rather than be giddy she came in second. With more endurance type challenges on the way, she’s proven she can hack it. Lastly, Kat probably won’t get blindsided, since she’s not in charge, so at this point, I would be surprised if she didn’t make the final five, regardless of what five make it.
Richie’s Heel: Jay
The heel is given to the person that lost the most ground yet is still in the game in the previous episode. Christina and Jay both lost plenty but one was at fault, one wasn’t. In a very important secret scene, Christina told Jonas that she would join him in an all-men alliance, but if he didn’t have the votes, she’d stick with the women. It was a very smart play but unfortunately for her, she needs Jay and Michael to wake up before the numbers get insurmountable and I don’t see that happening. Christina’s dilemma is she can see what needs to be done, but Jay, Michael and Troy don’t see the impending blindside.
Chelsea unintentionally alluded to it when she told Jay, “I think it’s pretty plain and simple we stick with Salani; we’re seven to five. Just pick off their five strongest to weakest.” Will Jay realize Chelsea and the rest of the Salani girls are going to stick to that plan once they run out of Manono members, or even before it? Yes. Will it be too late? Probably.
Richie’s Thoughts:
Has Jeff Probst ever watched Survivor? After Jonas was voted out, Jeff said, “Well you just voted out somebody who almost everybody agrees was likeable, was a provider and was loyal and that means nobody is safe.” No Jeff, it means Jonas was not in the majority alliance. I mean I can understand you saying something as dumb as that but I can’t understand why you and the rest of the editors would not realize how dumb it was when you were deciding what to put in or not.
Speaking of Jonas, he seems like a very likable guy but being that he was not one of the Pretty People, that get on the show because you can count the abs on their stomach, I thought he’d have more game play in him. Or at least some.
Survivor challenges are really sucking. If you watch the MTV challenges, they are awesome. Here’s a hint, if you have done these challenges in fifth grade, you may want them to get just a wee bit tougher.
