The Chewie alliances thread is looking bulky, so I thought I'd go out on a limb and start a new thread to discuss the possibility of eliminating certain Final Two combinations based on the age-old adage that alliances revealed do not prevail. (Sorry, I should know who to credit this to, but memory fails...it's someone Very, Very Wise in the Ways of Spoiling.) Obviously this isn't an original concept on my part--but maybe it's a good time in the season to do a little tally and consider who we want to keep an eye on in the recrap.

In past Survivors, final two alliances that are revealed to viewers do not make it all the way. One party of the alliance might get to the F2, but not both. So here's one discussion topic: given the screwy editing this season--gimmies mixed in with a few surprise picks--do we believe this F2 principle will hold true?

If so, let's consider the 15 F2 combinations available among the 6 remaining players. Which of the 15 can we eliminate--that is, which ones are known to viewers? We have two obviously revealed F2 alliances:

--Brian & Ted
--Brian & Clay

So if we see Brian in the F2, can we expect his opponent to be Helen/Jan/Jake? (Interesting to ponder how this might come about.)

And at least two F2 alliance possibilities:

--Brian & Helen (not revealed on the show, but CBS website indicates a "special friendship" between these two--but that's not necessarily an F2 alliance...comments?)
--Helen & Jan? Has this one truly been revealed to viewers? I think not, at least not as an F2 alliance, and perhaps not at all.

The flip side of the argument is to consider alliances that are being hidden from us, as Tina & Colby were in S2. Any chance that a hidden alliance will take the whole thing? Four possible hidden alliances:

--Ted & Jan have been strongly argued as a hidden alliance. Jan's lack of face time & strategizing, as several have suggested, indicate that's she's either a non-factor or a major player. And she's got a bond of some kind with Ted. Folks on the Ted/Jan thread have suggested these two could rule the game.
--Brian & Jan? It would fit his strategy of playing every possible side; it would explain her behavior in the last IC (looking to Brian for direction on who to snuff).
--Helen & Clay? Helen & Ted?

Seven unlikely alliances, hidden or otherwise (unless we're being tricked...)
--Jake and anyone, at least for now (that's 5 alliance combos)
--Clay and Ted--obvious rivals for Brian's loyalty
--Clay & Jan--many negative comments from him, plus her prior vote against him

Comments? Is this even vaguely useful? Thanks for reading--spoil away!