In a couple days I will be out of the country for a little over a week. I don't know what's bumming me out more...not initiating this list next week, not replying comically to Michel's spinology, or not being able to gloat over my Jets beating Iltarion's Packers on Sunday. Guess we'll have to make up for lost time when I get back.

MATT - The quote of the episode (and maybe the season thus far) was when Matt said, "I don't have to dig for idols; all I have to do is ask for them..." I wanted to drop him a notch for his "Freudian slip" but two TCs in a row calling the shots can't be overlooked. The merge comes at a perfect time for him because now he won't have to make good on his promise to Marty if La Flor loses another IC. But I'm still trying to wrap my mind around his "Most Eligible Bachelor" claim. I can see a woman in the city saying "yes" when he's wearing a $500 suit, but if the first date involved wearing a bathing suit I'm pretty sure there wouldn't be a second.

MARTY - Continues to be a focal point this season and one of your more analytical players. He was dead on when saying he'd either give his idol to Jeff or Matt. Jeff can't save him. By giving the idol to Matt I don't see Marty as a primary target immediately after the merge. I also love how he used his analytical skills to make Jane look like the horse's a$$ she really is.

CHASE - In the RC it was not as important to put your hand on the ball as it was to cut down the angles giving the shooter very little to throw at. Chase worked that strategy to perfection a few times in the RC. If Espada lost the IC, Alina probably gets voted out due largely to the fact that Chase told enough voters to write down her name.

BENRY - Nike is probably working on an "Air Benry" campaign after his performance at RC. He was even more impressive as MVP in the IC. Benry's "tiny balls" comment was a laugher; until it was outdone by Alina who replied she wanted the "big one."

FABIO - Wherever he finishes this season, Production hit a homerun with this Muttonhead. So why not pee in water that is already filthy? First of all urinating in contaminated water provided an "open door" for parasites to swim "upstream." Secondly, what does this clown do for an encore? Take a dump on the merge feast and rationalize it by saying, "There's already flies on the food!" When all is said and done, Fabio's entertainment value will be a big story for this season.

NAONKA - HMMMM, gotta move her up. Whether her read on Alina is more personal than gameplay, I'm not sure. But she is sizing up the competition and with the HII in her possession she'll be able to throw her weight around. Mimicking Fabio's peacock head bob at RC was hilarious, and her tosses contributed to the win. At merge if she can pick up where she left off with Matt, she'll probably go far.

BRENDA - Iltarion, ever the observant one, was once again on the money stating she's probably catty in real life. If she was calling the shots, Marty would not be in my ranking this week. But he is, so apparently someone else (Matt) is taking on the more dominant role. I'm beginning to think her success in this game will be contingent on how well she can adapt to sitting in the passenger seat.

ALINA - Nice contribution in the IC allowing her to see another TC. Problem is she's #1 on the hit list of Chase, Benry, HII holder NaOnka, and I think Holly. She also has no allegiance to the other HII holder, so short of an IC win, the two chickens in the cage will probably last longer than her.

JANE - She can't think of one time Marty lied to her and she knows Marty never wrote down her name. So "what goes around, comes around?" Huh? What?? This old bat is a moron. And her idiocy will only be crystalized when she continues to stick with the youngens even though they, not once, but TWICE kept her out of the loop at TC. Only reason I didn't rank her lower is for cooking some fish she caught to feed herself and not bring everything back to camp to feed the lazy loads. Good for her.

DAN - FINALLY a challenge where he was not a liability by using his arms to pull and hold up the chutes. But will still fit the bill as yet another pathetically inept player who advances but being...well, pathetically inept.

HOLLY - WAAAAAY too emotional for my liking. Her early season meltdown was well documented. And now this episode crying on everyone's a$$ over the food at RC was more than I could stomach.

PURPLE KELLY - Failed miserably with Brenda at the IC. Her one confessional this epsisode justifies why we haven't heard any before. It's only fair that the "Big Guy" overcompensated Kelly in the looks department because this waste of a castaway has nothing else going for her.

BOOTED

JILL - Simply put, a decent player who ended up on the wrong side of the numbers. If there was no tribal switch, she's a lock to at least be on the Jury. But with the tribal switch she doesn't make the merge. She can now sit wth Ive and lament what could have been.

• RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,Toban, 05:17 PM, 10-29-10
  • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,garyc, 01:13 PM, 10-30-10
    • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,dabo, 04:05 PM, 10-31-10
• RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,iltarion, 07:04 PM, 10-30-10
• RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,michel, 07:30 PM, 10-30-10
  • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,iltarion, 01:22 AM, 10-31-10
    • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,michel, 03:01 AM, 10-31-10
      • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,iltarion, 07:35 PM, 10-31-10
        • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,michel, 08:07 PM, 10-31-10
          • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,dabo, 09:25 PM, 10-31-10
            • RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,michel, 10:09 PM, 10-31-10
• RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,milkachulina, 11:25 AM, 11-01-10
• RE: S21 Love/Loathe List Ep7,dabo, 02:59 PM, 11-01-10

1. Alina: Over the past few episodes, she has really grown on me. Now that she's getting the major underdog edit, I would really like to see her in a showdown with Brenda and co. I'd much rather see a Team Alina than a Team Marty go up against the BS alliance.

2. Brenda: While she was clearly getting a less favourable edit that earlier on and I can see how she's probably an entitled ***** in real life, I like her story and I like her gameplay. Also, I found myself agreeing with her in her conflict with Fabio during the challenge. Strategically, it was her idea for Sash to ask for Marty's idol, wasn't it? It would be great for the end game be a battle between the forces of good (Alina) and the dark side (Brenda)

3. Holly: What surprises me the most about her is her apparent challenge prowess. Who woulda thunk? (and I'm referring to the past few challenges, not just in this ep.) She is clearly in good with Nay and Chase if they would confide in her that Alina is "next". I like her story arc so far too...from batsh*t crazy outsider to sympathetic "camp mom" and a key vote.

4. Slash: Just like in Guns 'n' Roses, was Axl (Brenda) in charge or was it really Slash... er, anyway... from a near invisible eps 2 through 4, he has really come out of his shell. He's clearly on the same level as Brenda in the evil planning department. His cockiness, however, was too apparent in the editing, to make me think he makes it to the end. (Maybe he'll be done in by Alina somehow...I hope). But I like evil, conniving Sash better than invisible Sash.

5. Marty: I sympathized with his predicament and I prefer the humble Marty to the one in the pre-swap episode. He's still a very smart player and I loved his diplomatic yet cutting cross-examination of Jane. Now that he is on his own, I'm back to rooting for him.

6. Chase: Maybe he's not as dumb/naive as I originally thought. And as Purple would say, he seems "super" nice.

7. Fabio: He's fun to watch. I'd like to see him at or near end-game.

8. Naonka: I have to give her props for always having her head in the game. She's put her "ghetto, not hood" (or was it the other way around?) attitude in check. Her looks at Fabio when he did his business in the pool were hilarious.

9. Benry: Challenge monster. However, I get this feeling that he doesn't really know where he fits in. Maybe I'm wrong and he has some behind the scenes business going on and if so, I'll bump him up.

10. Jane: She's kind of a dumb battleaxe. Her down-home southern charm and her outdoorsy know-how were endearing at first but now she seems more like a crazed hillbilly. While her cackling in Marty's face might have been funny TV, it made her look like an idiot (to me).

11. Dan: useless. I won't be happy if he makes it much farther but I'm afraid we'll be seeing his face for awhile.

12. Purple Kelly: You are a super big waste of space. Ugh.

The boot: She could have been more pro-active but she was ok and like Holly, she was, surprisingly, a challenge queen.

LAST EDITED ON 10-30-10 AT 01:24 PM (EST)

1. Brenda: Don't know if letting alliance mates find or get idols rather than getting them herself is smart, but she always seems to be in the majority, and seems to be the one person who is on good terms with Sash, Na-Onka, Chase, Purple Kelly, Jane and Fabio (if he's needed.) And Marty is only in the game because Brenda/Sash, et. al. have let him hang around. They might be able to use his vote to help move out Alina and Benry, both former member's of Shannon's alliance, and in Benry's case, a potential individual immunity challenge threat.

Brenda put Marty on the defensive in last week's tribal council. By letting Sash be the one to get the idol, she manipulated Sash into the position of having to answer Jeff's questions about his future plan's for the idol. Perhaps Brenda thinks holding the idols personally is more of a disadvantage, than an advantage. As long as someone from your alliance has it.

She seems intent on trying to create good-will among her allies. Interested in seeing how that works out for her.

2. Fabio: For comic relief mostly.

3. Marty: Glad he ruled out voting for Jill in his conversation with Sash. Don't know if giving the idol away was smart or foolish but had few choices.

4. Benry: Performed well in two challenges. Individual challenge threat every time?

5. Alina: Perceptive and also performed well in challenges.

6. Jane: For hard work and not giving away her catch just to gain favor.

7. Holly: Seems to get stronger as the game progresses, but not sure who she aligns with after merge.

Welcome aboard!

Arubaba, when's the last time you bought a suit, buddy? Either its been a while or you have some good connections. I live in a part of the country where the dollar goes further than other places, and yet, you better make it a $1000 suit for Sash if he plans on making it somewhere.

If this was a series on TV, this would have been a "filler" episode. Marty giving the HII to Sash was the only thing of import that happened.

1. Marty - Probably doesn't belong here, but I'm pulling for him. Giving the HII away proved he is not afraid to look foolish. The vote proved his gut was right again. He seems defanged with all of his allies except Dan now gone, but the strong might be the target post-merge.

2. Sash - Finally earned his nickname back. He is being at least edited as the strategic leader of the La Flor alliance. It was his idea to split the vote last week and it was his idea to ask Marty for the HII. Obviously, he had cultivated enough trust in Marty for his plan to work. It also appears to have been HIS idea to keep Marty and vote Jill. I don't believe his edit is a winner's edit, but he has time yet.

3. Brenda - Drops a spot below Sash for voting out Jill. She wanted Marty gone, but Sash got his way. Keeping Marty is good for Sash, not her. Marty will never trust her, but he can trust Sash. It is possible they decided on Jill because she had performed better in challenges than Marty. Still, getting Marty out pre-jury would have been best for Brenda. She still looks good though.

4. Chase - He moves up. He got a personal confessional again and seems to be one of the only players who is getting a personal story. That bodes well. With the merge, we will see whether Brenda will protect him or target him with the rest of the strong. In other words, we'll see if his choice Episode 2 pays off.

5. Fabio - Come on, DUDE. For all of his talking to Marty, he was the good La Flor soldier and voted for Marty twice. I don't see that getting him far. Not sure who he thinks has his back. No one that I see.

6. Benry - Challenge stud and good guy who will be the #1 target post merge. Does not appear to have anyone protecting him.

7. Alina - Took a step back with a light edit and everyone targeting her. She will probably be the one to go if Benry wins IC next episode. Another loyal La Flor soldier who should be looking to flip.

8. Holly - Though she still annoys me, she is getting a strong edit. Won't be seen as a target and therefore can go far now.

9. Blond in pink bikini - Hey, she got a confessional, very strangely, to describe a reward she didn't win, but that is an improvement. She is in position to go far.

10. Jane - Should have moved up after escaping into the woods, starting her own fire, and cooking herself one of the fish she caught. Good for her. But still comes off as rational as a box of Fruitloops. If the editors really wanted us on her side, wouldn't we have seen some of this "oppression" from Marty and Jill?

11. Dan - Hey, I have NOT YET BEGUN TO SKATE!!

12. NaOnka - DAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAWDAW.......

missed the good times to be had at Loser Lodge...

Wendy - ahhhhhhh.....
Shannon- Hahahahaha....
Jimmy J - I gave up the high life for this?
Jimmy T - Still waiting for his chance...
Tyrone - Set em straight
Yve - befuddled by the switch
Kelly B - Way to stay loyal to those who wanted you gone from the get go
Jill MD - Getting Marty the HII, wrong prognosis. Could have changed the game if she had built some trust with Holly and Jane, but tough to blame her for not aligning with looney tunes.

>

1-Brenda: How can I not put her at #1 when she winked at me?!!

(right after the wink!)

She is a good player and she has connections to everyone including "Fabs". Her two closest allies have idols and she can direct the action. Of course, like in the challenge when Kelly said: "I really thought we could have had that”, Brenda could let it all slip away.
Adapt to the passenger side???? Aruba, are you saying that is what women should do?

2- Alina: We heard she was smart and strong, yet she could also be sneaky enough to use emotions to influence others. We also saw a deal between Nay, Chase and Holly to target her. Holly? How can Alina survive if the one that considers her part of her family, the one that said she was like her daughter, is against her? By playing a role in winning the immunity challenge, we can say that Alina saved herself but, in the long run, we can imagine how Alina will survive: She will use emotions to keep herself in the game and maybe foil Brenda's big plans.

3- Holly: The feisty mom is really thriving in her new tribe. Now that she is about to reunite with Jane, I will be interested in seeing their dynamics. Between them, they have an in on both sides of the LaFlor alliance so I doubt they will let themselves get pagonged.

4-Fabio: Just when the audience could have started to realize that Fabio wasn’t that dumb, we got more evidence that he was a Dumb Blonde. I’d ask what scene stuck in your mind as a viewer: The one where Fabio initiated plan voodoo on Marty’s idol or the “pee in the pool” one but I feel the answer is pretty obvious. His answers at TC showed he isn't that dumb. I wonder how far he can pull his dumb routine?

5- Jane: She couldn’t have been happy that, after feeding him, Sash decided to sit out the challenge. Then, Sash didn't tell her about his deal with her nemesis. He certainly couldn’t have made her feel important when he didn’t tell her something as important as getting the idol from Marty. That could be the impetus for her to flip once more. Seeing her eating a fish alone told me that Jane was loyal to herself first, yellow second, just like it should be on Survivor.

6-Chase: He had a nice interview during the reward. His strategy talks, tying him to Na’Onka must be frustrating to his fans. Chase saying that Alina had to be next right after hearing him say that Dan was a source of concern was, at least, a contradiction or, at worse, another example of his difficulties in making decisions. Who will set him straight?

BTW, Aruba, the defender had no chance whatsoever in that challenge against a good shot. Espada was lucky that so many shots hit the posts and that Marty hit Chase in the balls. Don't tell me Chase tried to stop it that way?!

7- Marty: When Marty said he was powerless, he was validating what I said about him. All his problems came from revealing he had the idol. He wound up having to give it away. Stupid. Giving it to Jeff couldn't have helped down the line but he couldn't get burned by it either. Anyway, putting it back in play is better than giving it to the enemy. Stupid. A merge at 12 is really a gift for Marty just like it was for Russell in Samoa. There should be a limit to thinking we are so gullible to believe it was all planned before but Burnett still keeps on serving the kool-aid.

8- Sash: Dealing with Jud the wildcard, keeping Jane happy by asking her how she would vote and getting the idol from Marty showed that Sash was a very shrewd player. However, his interview about letting others feed him, his decision to sit out the challenge and his slip at TC showed me that his social game isn't very good. As Jane said: “People that don’t fish with me shouldn’t get all the riches". I don't like parasites so I can't agree with those who put him at #1.

9-Benry: I wonder if he will pull a double-cross in the game just like he did in the reward challenge. He still doesn't have a big role except in winning challenges and he seems unaware that Chase isn't with him.

10- Kelly: She looked and sounded like BB's Jordan in that interview. Guess that's the good thing about Survivor that she isn't the star of the season!!!

11- Na’Onka: Getting two negative confessionals during a reward tells us her “Villain” edit is being ramped up. Her first interview, about not being a farm girl, showed that she isn’t deserving of being considered a Survivor. The following one about Alina being grimy and sneaky only served to reinforce Alina’s underdog story. Funny that she is climbing in some charts but I still see her as a bad player.

12- Dan: "Teflon Dan" could have been an interesting story if we had seen his funny side rather than is useless one. The other players say he is likable but that has all been edited out.

Booted - Jill: How come all Doctors are stupid when they play Survivor? Stupid ass Jill could have forced a tie if she had voted against Marty and maybe could have saved herself on the revote. Instead, she simply gave up. Not surprising considering she was stupid enough to give away the idol, to think telling everyone about it was smart and do nothing to distance herself from Marty after the switch.

Ils sont fous, ces Romains!

Correction. Brenda was winking at me.

Jill votes for Marty. 3-3 tie. They sit out while everyone else votes again. Jill goes anyway on a 3-2 vote.

I guess Doc isn't so stupid after all.

>

So it's smart not to even give it a shot? Who knows what happens in a revote. Just ask Kelly B!

Anyway, Doc was stupid to give the idol to Marty, she was even more stupid to suggest he should show it to everyone. (Jane can't tell LaFlor Marty has the idol if she doesn't know) she was stupid to hang on to Marty as if he was her showmance partner AND she was stupid not to try anything to save herself.

I don't think that Jill was there to win. If she had it her way, she would have gone to the end with Marty just as stupidly as Becky played with Yul. At least Yul fought to save Becky once. Marty never even lifted a finger to save her. Jill, if she was there to play Survivor, had no reason not to throw him under the bus.

Props to her for being loyal. Marty wasn't wiling to vote for her either. Props to both of them.

It is called coat tail riding. Many have rode it to victory, including some of your favorite players. You would be the first to say: it is a viable strategy.

>

Playing as follower is a viable option but Game Theory says that a follower must know when to stay with one leader and when to jump ship to the one that takes over power. Vecepia was the best of all time at this. There is no place for loyalty on Survivor if it leads to your elimination.

Jill knew she was on the block and, when she found out that Marty gave the idol to Sash, she should have seen he had no loyalty to her. He had sold her out with what was partly her idol. Did he even tell her of his plan in advance? I'll have to read those interviews.

Jill quit in my book. Quitters aren't my favorites.

PS: Not a single coattail rider won by sticking to someone who lost power. So, no one with Jill's "strategy" is among my favorites.

Considering that Jill was in the scene, in the near background, when Marty handed Sash the HII, I'd say it was kind of obvious she knew about what was going on even though that wasn't expressly pointed out.

Yes, I read the interviews and saw that they discussed it. It doesn't make her any smarter though. She let herself get screwed over.

Anyway, I don't have to prove she was a dumb player, her best friend did it for me:

Marty (solo): "Jill is my right-hand person and was part of my nucleus back at Espada. To have her here is amazing, but she doesn't understand the game, and she doesn't understand strategy."

The question is: Did she have options? Yes she did.

In her place, I would have first tested Marty by asking him for the idol. (They had agreed that the idol was to help Marty AND Jill get further in the game. Marty couldn't stay in the game with the idol but Jill could have, putting her in a better position to hold it.)

If he had refused to give it to me which, knowing Marty was kind of obvious, I would have known where I stood with him. I would have pretended not to be offended and would have simply pleaded with him to give the idol to Sash ONLY on the promise that Sash would vote against Jane.

Whether or not Sash was going to agree to that, I would have told Brenda that I was ready to vote against Marty and that she should too because Marty considered her the "spawn of the devil". THAT would have removed any worries Brenda had of playing mean!

"I can see a woman in the city saying "yes" when he's wearing a $500 suit"

That quote was so funny and has absolutely made my day! At first, I thought it was written as sarcasm. But, knowing that it was intentional makes it even better.

My first rankings of the year! Let me start by saying that I have enjoyed this season of Survivor less than I have any other season. I am not "invested" in the players like I have been in the past. This group just doesn't do it for me. Nonetheless, I will continue to watch as I am a Survivor fan.

1) Naonka - Everyone hates her. Yet, she is the only reason I am watching. Her character is complex and angled. But, we are learning about who she is. I appreciate getting to know her. Honestly, I believe that many fans have been too hard on her. She takes a beating when her name pops up. Hate to say this, but race clearly plays a factor.

2) Chase - This season's eye candy. That's all that he offers me. He is great to look at. I have grown tired of hearing about his dad. It's over rehearsed and tired. Chase is sexy. Because of that, he gets a free ride. He really isn't doing anything (aside from standing around looking really, really, good). But, he looks good well.

3) Fabio - Sheer entertainment factor. In the last eposide, did he imply that he is playing dumb? That's not an act. It's real. I still like him.

4) Benry - Doing well and playing strong enough.

5) Jane - I like the country bumpkin. She is tough, and knows how to live in the outdoors. Ilove that she made some fish for herself. That's how you survive.

6) Matt - Good player, though he put his foot deep in his mouth at Tribal Council. It will come back to haunt him. On a side note, this man is the ANTI-SEXY. His body is so gross. Nice suit or not, I would have to pass.

7) Dan - He has bad knees, but hasn't done anything to make me dislike him.

8) Brenda - Overrated.

9) Holly - Agree that she was over-the-top during the RC. Enough already.

10) Alina - Don't like.

11) Purple Kelly - Don't like.

12) Marty - Absolutely cannot stand this ego-driven jerk. Thinks he knows everything.

Booted) Jill - Goodbye and won't really miss you.

1. Jud (1). Fascinating player. His game could go up in smoke at any time, but he's running with a different, unique strategy than we've ever seen before. Should have made a Freudian joke at TC though.

2. Benry (4). Rocked at the challenges! Needs to pay more attention to the politics of the game, but he seems fairly straight arrow and may need to kick it into high gear on the challenges to get to final.

3. Alina (3). Still playing smart though from a weak position.

4. Jane (2). Coasting, maybe waiting for her chance to get some game going again, drops a few notches for the fish episode which was funny but dangerous as it leaves her exposed as untrustworthy.

5. Chase (8). Nice guy, no one has anything against him really, but he needs to start making some strong moves. Planning an Alina boot with NaOnka was a good sign he's got game.

6. Brenda (6). Still like her but success has gone to her head and, let's face it, she's benefitted from a lot of luck.

7. Holly (5). Would be higher but she should have made a case for a Dan boot to improve her post-merge odds.

8. Sash (9). Strong player but he's getting cocky, which is always a bad sign, and he's not watching his words very well.

9. Marty (7). Scrambling, playing a bold game and managing to get through one Tribal at a time. But nagging on Jane the way he did was just egomaniacal.

10. NaOnka (12). She's done a lot to destroy her chances of winning this game, and she'll probably destroy her chances entirely the way she's going, but I'll give her a bit of credit for keeping her head in the game despite her insanity.

11. Kelly S. (13). She spoke! And it was silly! Nice to look at, though, I'll give her that.

12. Dan (11). How in the world did medical clear him to be in this game? What I mean is: Okay, who do I bribe to play Survivor?

Good-bye JIll (10). I said it before and I really mean it, too smart for this game.