Shane Never Saw it Coming...

I know, every week I say that this episode is the reason I love Survivor. And I’m sure it’s getting old. But I don’t care…get your own blog. Last night’s episode of Survivor: Exile Island rocked. THIS is why I love Survivor!

First was a phenomenal reward challenge. That was a beast. That, and the fact that the reward was not really clear made it interesting. They knew it was something with family (a HUGE motivation), but also knew that they would have the power to allocate time with family members. You could kind of see it in Cirie’s eyes that maybe she didn’t want to have that power again. Captain America won (of course), and I think he did an excellent job with the allocating of rewards. There was no question that he had to give Shane overnight time with his son. I might have switched Cirie and Shane (since maybe Boston would enjoy spending time at camp), but they are the two who needed the time. How could you NOT give Shane that time? I loved when Boston talked about how he and his dad were more like brothers since his dad acts like a kid. Really? I would have never guessed.

Terry’s wife clearly understood that even though her husband could win every physical challenge out there, he has no clue how to play the mental part of the game. Why would he go back to camp and announce that he didn’t do much sleeping (ugh…)? And did he need to explain to Aras that he chose Danielle to be exiled because it was “just her mom”? No one would have argued those choices – you just needed to say it was hard, say there was no question about Shane (I think everyone would have chosen Shane), and that he knew how much he missed his wife and wanted to give Cirie the same. I think we’re seeing the start of a Colby-like run…he’ll win all the challenges, yet won’t win the million. His attitude is just getting old. The only person he might be able to beat is Danielle…hmmm….

The immunity challenge was great too. Of course, my favorite part was Shane. Shane never shows up for the challenges…I don’t know if it’s because he thinks he’s safe or because he might just be the least physical person out there. But I laughed so hard as he continued to pour the water into the wrong tube. I truly thought that this was the challenge Terry would lose. Aras should have won…with all that yoga/balance ability, he should have rocked. But, of course, Captain America prevailed. Oh well, at least we got to see them all get off their poles…some dives, a strange bit of belly flop by Shane, then Cirie carefully climbing down with a “no diving for me” comment.

Cirie might be one of the greatest players ever. First of all, she’s in the Final Four after being told in the first week of being out there that she was next. But more importantly, she is running the show without anyone realizing it. The last two votes have been completely engineered by Cirie, and no one seems to be the wiser. Fantastic. (the look on Shane's face as he saw one vote for him was great...as the others were read was even better...he really is a cartoon character...and why was Courtney so upset too?) And if she makes it to the final two (which might actually happen…) she’s sure to win. How could the jury NOT give it to her? (and the more I watch the jury, the more I think that Sally & Austin aren’t locked in to voting for Terry if he’s in the final…) What a great game.