Survivor Samoa starts tomorrow!

Natalie was a major disappointment tonight.

The finale is this Sunday. No final three? There are five people left! I guess the holidays are interfering with scheduling.

I think Russell deserves to win. He has played this game like few others. Will he win? I think it will depend on who's left with him.

Nooo not Russell. Me hate Russell. Anyone but Russell.
I think the jury agrees with me and would vote for any of the other (rather likable) people over Russell. I hope they have one of those stand on a pole in the middle of the ocean for hours in the sun contests and Russell falls off into a pool of sharks while clasping his immunity idol to his chest.

already lost...

Usually there are 2 tribals in the last episode. 1st will bring it to 4, then 3 for the final.

It did annoy me when Russel kept that idol - his arrogance like that could get him voted off and less likely to win. In Survivor.com, Monica was interviewed and said yes she would consider the fact that Russell has plenty of money to not vote for him.

What the heck happened?

Natalie!?

Russell, like him or not, played a better game than anyone and really deserved to win.

Yep. She did nothing for an entire season and because she wasn't Russel, she won a million bucks.

Poor sports on the jury.

Actually she did do a few things and I thought she had a good chance to win. She did very well in many of the challenges - she is a strong girl for her size. She talked some of the tribe members to vote Erik off. She killed a rat which cracked me up and she knew how to use Russell. She played a good social game which was the one aspect that Russell screwed up in.

Russell would have won if he took a bite of humble pie now and again. You have to remember who is voting for you and try to get a pulse on what they value - right or wrong it really depends on what the jury values. And in this case, they didn't like Russell having a swelled head.

I was very disappointed that Russell didn't win. He played that game! I wonder if Mick got any votes at all. Natalie was not a complete dud. She made her presence felt throughout the game.

Next up--villains and heroes. Will Russell be back? Will Rupert be there? Interesting idea.

Mick got zippo.

I found it ironic that Russell was so worried about Mick possibly beating him and Mick didn't get anything.

I was and wasn't upset - I wasn't in that for such a smart guy, he was dumb. He put people down and was way too arrogant. For some one who claimed to know the game so well - he missed big time on that side of things. I can only remember one time when some one was far from nice and ended up winning because the jury appreciated the way he played - can't remember the name at the top of my head. But just consider how many times the nicer person won over the sneaky son of a b*tch.

I was happy Natalie won because this game is about surviving. She came in as someone you would think could not survive and would kicked out early. Instead she proved she could make good decisions, and unlike some of the other people, she never pissed off Russell or revealed anything that would make him feel threatened. Russell was a snake going in and remained a snake throughout. Natalie went in as a pampered southern-bell and came out as a rat killing, challenge winning contender who knew not to step on the snake she was riding. Sometimes it's not about who goes in the best prepared to win, but who rises up the most to grab the prize.

Russell burning another sock reminded me why I disliked him so much in the first place. Tactics like that don't help you win, it was just mean.

I also read how angry some of the other players got at Russell after they viewed the show. In particular, Russell emptying their water. They were angry because people were actually getting ill because of dehydration. One thing doing something sneaky to get ahead, another actually impacting the health of your tribemates - could be another reason they lost so many immunity challenges.

For me, Russell played the game harder than I ever seen it played. And for every minute he was out there.
In the end, his lack of a social end game was his undoing. Not eating a bit of humble pie at the end did not help.
But that jury was made up of the whiniest poor losers ever.

If Natalie, Mick and Jaison had even tried to vote Russell out, whether it worked or not, I would have had a lot more admiration for them. But to follow behind Russell, agreeing to everything Russell says, and then pointing out how much nicer you are, smacks of a double standard for me.

Russell didn't play a perfect game or else he would have won, but I like how hard he played. His finding the idols without clues ability really needs to be admired.

I liked Natalie better before the "prayer warrior" crap and her end speech and answers.

I can't wait for the next season.