Survivor: An unexpected outbreak of strategy (almost)

Whoa--did I detect tension and suspense as last night's episode drew to a close? Yes, yes I did. Unfortunately it didn't add up to anything in the end, but a fun ride nonetheless.

It's hard to blame Terry for not giving up the hidden immunity idol. Even if what he was scheming had worked, it wouldn't have gained him much. Now the dysfunctional alliance will have to beat him twice to knock him out of the game. I just can't see that happening, unless there's a fire dancing challenge next week, followed by a cigarette speed smoking challenge the week after that. And he'd probably win those ones, too. Yep--The Robot seems destined for Final Two at this point.

But there's still a lot of game left to determine who will be going up against him for the big payday. I'm starting to like either Bruce or Cirie for that role, just because they're prototypical "under the radar" types in a parade of jaw-flapping freaks (On second thought, Bruce is a jaw-flapping freak too, but I don't think anyone takes him seriously as a threat to anything besides their patience). Plus, it's becoming apparent that Aras's arass is grass, Shane is going to self-immolate soon, and the two girls are bound to piss someone off before final tribal council. And even if it wasn't for all those factors weighing on my prediction, I'd still be rooting for Cirie. Man, she's awesome. I hope she makes it to the final four so she'll be available to share her wicked commentary until the very end (and provide free exams of sensitive areas for her fellow tribemates).

Now, about the Cheeseburger Challenge: Excellent twist. Way to rachet up the tension and resentment, producers! And with the exception of Shane, who should have competed in the immunity challenge, all the players made the right choice for themselves. Bruce, Cirie, Danielle and Courtney had no real shot at winning, so why not eat? But Shane had at least a decent shot at winning (okay, not really--It's pretty damn hard to defeat a cyborg robot), and he chose not to compete purely out of hubris. And no good comes to the hubristic. Seeing Aras's face fall when he realized no one else in his alliance recognize how important it is to at least challenge Terry while they still have numbers was priceless. I'm sure he screwed up the puzzle out of sheer panic and frustration. I don't think there's anything that can save him now, except a bunch of immunity wins. Oh well.

Now, about what really should have happened with all the scheming and plotting regarding the hidden immunity idol: I think Sally could have made a game-changing play in there somewhere. It would have involved creating a super-secret alliance with the rest of the women to go to the Final Four together. Next step, tell Terry that they had two of the other women in a secret new alliance, but only if he gives Sally the immunity idol so that the women can vote against Sally at Tribal. See, this would keep the new "alliance" secret but still send Aras home with two votes when Sally's immunity is revealed after the vote. Next step, let Terry think he's running the show and "go along" when he suggests getting rid of Shane at the next vote. Then Bruce. Don't reveal the new alliance unless a) Terry wants to vote against a woman instead of one of the guys (just surprise him at tribal council by voting for a dude instead); or b) Terry loses an immunity challenge himself (in that case, get him the hell out of the game!). The key would be to give Terry a compelling reason to give up secret immunity. As long as he has that, he's pretty much invincible. And you'd have to count on Courtney and Danielle to keep their traps shut about the double-secret probation situation, which could be too much to ask.

All moot, all moot. But it was great to watch the show and see an opening for some strategy to come into play. Sigh. If only these people would change their game plan when the game changes. Loyalty is the downfall of so many middling players. I wonder if Sally ever tried to make an alliance deal that didn't involve Terry. She needed to. Might not have worked, but she should have cut the cord on that relationship when he couldn't pull anyone to his side after the merge.