LAST EDITED ON 03-09-12 AT 07:56 PM (EST)

(edited for brevity... hahaha)

My concern that production no longer knows how to edit this show, sparked last season, continues to grow.

Now, even when seemingly given a decent cast, we are having it wasted for the sake of predictable, and probably staged, hooks and a villain edit like we haven't seen since RussHell last made Survivor fans vomit.

More on the men giving up immunity and the edit of it later. Even though I don't think the men are as idiotic and gutless as the edit made them look, I am still shocked that the men didn't drop further in Aruba's rankings.

1. Sabrina - Regains her top spot after getting her narration role back and thanks to a rough episode for Chelsea. Her comments calling Alicia a "fire-starter" were not only ironic but also just another example of how socially aware she is. Her discussion with Kim showed she appreciates Christina's hard work and is willing to keep an open mind regarding her alliance. In reality, Alicia's mouth makes her the perfect alliance mate.

2. Chelsea - Still got her face time, and whether she has the hat going on or the red bikini, more of her and less of others is typically a good thing. However, this wasn't a strong episode for her. She was more diplomatic this time with the men, but it still made virtually no sense to turn the men down regarding the net, not that it was only her decision. Sure, as Kim said, the women were eating fine, but is more food a bad thing? Of course not. Is the net currently being used? If someone can actually catch fish with the net, then let them. Nearly as bad as Tarzan, she seems unaware that she will eventually have to play with the men. And, yeah, she isn't so good at puzzles. Whatever.

3. Kim - I was considering moving her to 2nd thanks to Chelsea not getting the best edit this time around, but Kim's lack of personality prevents me. She is right to prefer Alicia stick around as Kim remains perfectly placed between Chelsea and Sabrina and Alicia and Kat. I found it curious that in the RC she hit a panel in the absolute top corner, actually catching a little frame, and the entire panel came out when more solid shots only took out sections. Strange that. Anyway, she is in great shape, but I'd like to see some attitude out of her. She is making Sophie seem entertaining in comparison.

4. Monica - Sensible and competitive older woman who should do well with the men if the tribes do indeed shake it up. Still cant' see her cracking the top 5 though.

5. Christina - If you want to make a case regarding overcoming social bias in the game, how come virtually every asian woman we've ever seen ends up being a super hard worker, camp provider, who is on the outside of the controlling alliance?? Perhaps their tendency to please men has a tendency to displease women. God knows nothing motivates women like jealousy-fueled competitiveness. That is a generalization and a theory, but I can't believe its coincidence.

6. Alicia - Per the edit, you could say she had a bad episode: terrible puzzle performance after she jumped on Kat about it, JP razzing her about it, and Sabrina even going far enough to reconsider her place in the alliance. However, I am actually starting to like her a little. The obnoxious Alicia has faded, and I don't mind that she has a little fire in her (see Kim). She handled her failure better than Chelsea did. Nothing wrong with laughing about it afterwards. What else can you do, right?

7. Kat - Cute and competitive girl who is woefully short on brains and class. Alas.

8. Troy - As bad as the men looked, Troy came out of it looking better than most. Though his confessional served mainly as an ironic foreshadowing of the upcoming debacle, he was still right. It wasn't that the women were being "over-emotional;" it was just that they were being illogical. He mostly kept his head down during the giving up immunity discussion. My guess is that he was fine with going to TC because he believed Bill would jump ship.

9. Jake - Was the lone man that the edit allowed any sense to seep from. Unfortunately ineffectual, but sensible.

10. Jonas - Has somehow become Zolton's byotch. Not sure how considering Zolton didn't even control the last vote. It was like Jonas was reading off a card given to him from production instead of being the normal, entertaining Jonas. It was sensible to offer to use the net for the women, but he should have let it drop after they foolishly turned it down rather than insisting he didn't care. Again, forget the One World rubbish. The name of this season should be "Pride.. It always hurts. It never helps."

11. Michael - Also improved just by keeping his head down. My guess is he was fine going to TC as long as Leif was the one to go home.

12. Leif - How about we try some simple logic on Tarzan. If the Misfits were such a solid alliance, then why would it matter that Bill knew he was next to go? If they aren't that solid, then how is it a big betrayal? Leif is too nice a guy. He wisely kept his mouth shut and let Bill and Michael think he was going home.

13. Tarzan - Really, the edit is more to blame for his completely non-segued rant about the race card in America. But his behavior towards the women in the challenges is completely idiotic. He is aware that he will have to play with the women at some point, right? Best case scenario for him, he'd still need their votes. He is basically a much older Cochran: the intelligent social idiot.

14. Zolton the Gay Blade - One week after he made a move up my list, he tanks right back to the bottom. There are some comparisons to RussHell here mostly thanks to just the edit and the gift of the HII. However, RussHell, at least in Samoa, was good TV because he was great in confessional. Since assuming some power, Zolton's confessionals have devolved into childish rants about who he doesn't like and what he's going to do to them. I have always maintained that there are people who could seriously benefit from a good beatdown at least once in their lives. I present to you Zolton as Exhibit A.

Got Out While the Gettin Was Good

Kourtney - for shame...
Nina - couldn't see that one coming
Matt - Troy and Jonas should have taken his offer
Bill - Showed class and apparently knows Colton better than he knows himself. Too bad he couldn't punch Colton out. It would have been the greatest Survivor moment of all time.

>