I LOVE Survivor!

Even though Survivor is battling it out in my mind for the spot as my favorite show on tv (with The Office, which is unquestionably the funniest, smartest, best written show on tv), it showed last night why it continues to be so good 6 years in (can you believe it's been 6 years!).

With the previews from last week, and all the talk of solidifying their alliance at the beginning of the episode, you knew that the twist was going to involve the opportunity to switch tribes. I was convinced that Brad would switch...I actually thought a few of the Raro members would flip. So I was shocked when Candice stepped off the mat, followed quickly by Jonathan. It was a bold move. A risky move, but bold nonetheless. She must feel really strongly that her original alliance will hold, because she now is on the bottom of the heap at Raro, and completely on the outs at Aitu. Very very interesting. And for the first time this season, I actually found myself yelling at the screen, cheering on Aitu during the challenge. Karma is tough kids. Nearly as tough as being rolled through a challenge in a barrel (yikes!). I also found myself tearing up a bit as Aitu read their letters from home. What a great moment.

I was a little surprised at Aitu's decision to send Candice to Exile Island. It would have made far more sense to send Jonathan. They needed to send one of the two of the traitors; they just should have sent the one that they knew would have to participate in the next challenge (since everyone knows you can't sit out the same members in back to back challenges). In the end it didn't matter...Yul again showed just how smart he is, figured out the cannon ball drop, and won the challenge. Fantastic. I also loved how Jeff made some sort of comment to Probst about his running commentary. Have you never seen Survivor? That's Probst's job - make annoying running commentary. Get in the lead and you won't have to worry about it.

Tribal council wasn't too much of a shocker...after Brad said he didn't trust his tribe, you knew he was going home. But it was a shocker how he left...as the first member of the jury. Maybe he wouldn't have been blindsided like that if they knew they would need his vote. And unless the final two is Jonathan and Candice (ugh), I can't see how either of them could win at this point with the expanded jury. I also wonder if Probst will tell Aitu that the jury has started, or if they will have to wait till they go to tribal council to find out. Hmmm...