LAST EDITED ON 10-26-07 AT 09:50 AM (EST)

Looking for HII in daylight, giving HII to James, keeping JR -- is Todd a good strategist or bad strategist?

Personally, I think he's doing well with what's been presented to him. He somehow keeps getting people to agree to work with him, like adding James and Frosti after previous alliance mates have been voted out.

• RE: Todd,Fishercat, 11:29 AM, 10-26-07
• RE: Todd,Myantek, 12:15 PM, 10-26-07
• RE: Todd,Max Headroom, 12:37 PM, 10-26-07
• RE: Todd,KObrien_fan, 01:11 PM, 10-26-07
  • RE: Todd,nazpink, 03:34 PM, 10-26-07
  • RE: Todd,garcor, 08:39 AM, 10-27-07

I think he's a good strategist, but a flawed one.

Basically, I think he goes too much with gut feelings and immediate action and that it could bite him in the ##### in the end game. The prime evidence last night was his and Amanda's (who seems to be a really UTR power player, like a good version of Becky) argument over whether to boot J-R or Sherea. Despite the fact that they could guarantee a numbers advantage by sending home Sherea, Todd was willing to risk a 5-5 tie (or a 6-4 disadvantage if Frosti, Sherea, and an outcasted Courtney jump) based on a gut feeling to send home J-R, who isn't a threat for anything. Eventually, they made the right decision, but keeping Sherea over Jean Robert made no sense for the Fei Longs other than to placate Courtney.

Searching for the Idol in the day may have been a necessary evil. Getting now in front of Frosti was probably worth it, and giving it to James was necessary too. But both were pretty instinctual and risky decisions.

Watching it, I thought looking for the HII in broad daylight in front of all your tribemates was pretty stupid but then I thought it must have been a necessary evil. They had to find it before they sent James back to ZH. They needed James to have it because they need him to keep their numbers up. There's no guarantee that the HII would be in the same place in each camp so just giving him the clues was risky.

I think he's doing well with what's been given to him but needs to work on keeping his mouth shut and letting too many people in on his plans.

He needs to be better in disguising what he's doing, but I put Todd on the "good strategist" side. The goal is to keep the numbers in your favor, and Jean-Robert is part of his voting bloc. And J-R can be disposed of when he's no longer needed-- the guy is not an immunity threat, plus he's not well-liked so it's unlikely he could pull together a competing alliance later in the game.

Part of Todd's strategy is to gain loyalty from people by filling them in on details and acting/showing that he trusts them rather than getting caught sneaking around or having them take him on the face value of his word. By showing Denise and Courtney, they feel included instead of excluded (though delusional Courtney still feels slighted, go figure). By trusting James with the HII he has gained an ally that trusts him. By showing Frosti, he has a new ally that he can use as a vote and toss out when ready.

It isn't a bad strategy to be honest with folks, but it too can backfire if/when they feel they are stabbed in the back.

I'm not sure who came first hosting games, you or Tribe, but you are both nefarious! - CTGirl

First off, I would like to point out that the only strategic (besides making friends) plays thus far have been from Todd, Peih Gee and Jamie. I've been wondering when the rest would figure out that no, they aren't on some camping trip gone wrong.

The thing that I find most impressive is the fact that both tribes are willing (or at least some members are) to put themselves out there in order to keep intact despite the seperation. Of course it helps to be able to kidnap people back for a night. I really don't know how close the others were when Todd was trying to get the HII as editing can be decieving, but clearly it couldn't be helped as it would be harder to do at night and probably more noticeable considering they usually spend the night clustered together......never mind the fact that well, they were pressed for time. I think Frosti probably wandered and may have gotten lucky or saw the two walk off and decided to investigate. I figured voting him out would be the best move but then again the guy is good at challenges plus he does get the illusion of inclusion and trust by not being voted out despite his knowledge. Besides, I think Sherea was regretting not enjoying her tribe and may have deflected back....especially if she knew she had to work with Jean-Robert.

Right now, I'm thinking Courtney could be the tribe's undoing. Jean-Robert is obnoxious (not seeing the level of hatred for him though) and thinks that he is a sneaky mastermind....this can be tolerated for numbers sake. However, JR's presence somehow makes Courtney think that her tribe is excluding her...which is really messed up considering the fact that they all share in the dislike towards the man and Todd is her BFF of Survivor! Clearly her 10 year old body matches her mentality. Too bad for her mouth because she could have set herself up for being at least second place considering she is not a threat in challenges or on a personal like level either.

I like Todd's strategy of trying to create additional allies a lot better than PG and Jamie's of throwing a challenge to vote out member's of another alliance. Todd's seems a better way of taking into account game twists and the future merge.

That said, I'm not sure how seriously Todd's alliance mates view him. He doesn't exactly project strength, either physically or emotionally (as when he started getting nervous this week.) He might end up assembling an alliance that he has no control over. And if it ends up too large and unwieldy members might feel outsiders and start to flip; Courtney's already there.