LAST EDITED ON 10-11-09 AT 00:35 AM (EST)

I don't remember having this hard a time sorting people out now 4 weeks into a season. We finally got to see Galu, but besides that making it incredibly obvious Galu was going to lose the IC, the only people who distinguished themselves were Eric and Dave. From the editing through 4 weeks, one certainly has to believe things are going to go badly for Galu, regardless of their momentary advantage. There has been virtually no foreshadowing involving any of the Galu members, other than Shambo's love for FU FU, which could be Galu's Trojan horse.

1. Erik- Best challenge performer in the cast, virtually ran across the rope bridge (military experience?). He also one-upped RussHell's logic by finding the HII from vague clues regarding the other idol at the other camp. He is visibly the only Galu to be playing the game, though any alliance he may have is unknown. He appeared to kowtow to RussWell, but his vote went the right way. Clothesline incident was funny/ironic and totally something I would do while caught up in the chase.
2. Danger Dave- Really, this episode was his and Erik's. Telling that RussWell picked him of all the guys for "firepower" in the RC. His commentary about Erik "clotheslining himself with a clothesline" was the comment of the show. His last toss to win the RC was miraculous though made inevitable by the editing. He was perhaps a little too proud of it though. I'm pretty sure the person who wins the million can say they topped you, DD.
3. RussHell- Finally moves up near the top of my list. Mostly thanks to less screen time for him to boast, another strong challenge performance, and sound logic in regards to both Natalie and J-Sone.
4. Kelly- She takes over the top spot among the women for me. She has been strong in every challenge, and a little more screen time revealed her to be not just another pretty little blonde. Cold shoulder towards Yasmin was either tough or stuck-up. Since it was Yasmin, I give her the benefit of the doubt.
5. Natalie- Announcing a coat tails strategy this early in the game may be a first. Though I normally don't respect the strategy, I can almost respect the honesty of it. Also, wasn't it her that blazed past Monica on the ropes? She said she can beat RussHell in a final vote because of how he's rubbed some people, but we haven't seen someone lose a vote because of their personality since Rob in All-Stars. Foreshadowing of the end? I hope not.
6. Monica- Still my personal favorite, so I'm not dropping her too far. Ropes performance was bad and saying she thought she did well was worse, but that hardly means she's bad at ALL challenges. Plus, Galu still had the lead once the bags were untied. She obviously has an alliance of sorts within the tribe. I expect her, Laura, Kelly, John and Brett may be pretty tight.
7. Laura- Deserves to stay close to her friend. Having her, DD, Shambo, and RussWell all out of a challenge at once was a surefire ticket to a loss.
8. Ashley- Nothing episode for her, but she keeps relative position. Also telling that RussHell picked Natalie for his goat instead of her.
9. RussWell- Dropped down the list for trying to get rid of my girl because they lost one challenge, and thus suddenly finding himself in the minority. I'm all for voting with challenge strength in mind for the first couple votes, but not now. You have a 4 person advantage. Unless you lose every single challenge from here on out, you are not going to be in the minority. Plus, no matter who you vote out, you are still the stronger tribe in my estimation. The bottom-line is that you need to vote purely based on strategy at this point. Vote out the people who may flop postmerge, which means Yas and Shambo should have been the top two on your list. Finally, unless you actually wanted to lose, which may have not been the worst idea, going by rotation left you with 4 of your strongest challenge performers out at once. All because you don't want the responsibility of choosing at each challenge. That shows a lack of courage, and more so, a lack of leadership.
10. Liz - Absolutely no role this episode. Previews showed an upcoming showdown with RussHell. Unless it was a redirect, no surprise, that portends badly for Liz.
11. John- Dropped down the list after editors used his sleeping in the hammock to both heighten the suspense of Erik's search for the HI and to make John look foolish. That portends badly for him.
12. Mick- Another episode. Another challenge loss. Another shortage of screen time. Didn't even get to narrate much.
13. J-Sone - His height was the key to the end of Galu's run. Calling his decision to be on Survivor "a mistake" is both mystifying and frustrating. At least jerk-off Ben wanted to be there.
14, Shambo- You would think a marine would have some sense of loyalty. Instead, our budding Benedict Arnold with a mullet frankly dodged a bullet by having someone as useless as Yasmin on the tribe. Otherwise, her colossal stupidity in losing an entire chicken, something we've never seen before, should have gotten her number called.
15. Brett- Going for the title of most anonymous Survivor to make it past episode 4. 20 castaways to start was just a bad idea. First 2 boots should have been double boots.

seen at a Loser Lodge near you-

Marisa - I can't think of you while I'm lying next to her
Betsy- tribe preferred to have Ben around rather than you. figure that one out
Ben- apparently fits the personality MB is now looking for- controversial
Yasmin- another fool saving themselves for the challenges. We've never heard that before. Had some excuses for doing nothing that frankly I've never even used before. Did have an all-time Survivor moment in episode 2 though. A moment that will live on in infamy. Props.

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