This is all very thought-provoking! The only drawback to this thread is there are so many great observations by everyone that it would take forever to acknowledge them properly. You guys rock!

Yul and Becky
“Becky, she is a lawyer (yet another stereotype!) but she does a lot of non profit work; I respect that and I don’t think someone like that really would be in this game to make a lot money” “so I trust her”

I agree that Yul sounds a little soft compared to say Jonathan, but actually I read this differently. Yul is sorting through potential allies to see if it's possible to trust anyone. Becky is a lawyer i.e. that could be a TRUST negative (Yul is a lawyer, he should know). BUT she is the kind of lawyer who does non-profit, therefore she isn't a typical cutthroat lawyer only concerned with #1; this balances out the negative of "lawyer" so he feels he can trust her not to stab him in the back. That's how I read this.

I also thought Yul and Becky were shown allying because here we have a bond based on true ethnic commonality. They emphasized they are both Korean; this enables a "brother-sister" relationship. I think it was pointed out last time (by CB?)that "Asian" is a pretty lame tag as they come from three different nationalities that aren't at all like each other.

Now we see the Koreans bonding. The two women seem to have a bond. I can't recall if Jenny and Brad have bonded. CB is the only Vietnamese and an outsider for that as well as jokes and age. Billy also was shown to be different i.e. from the Dominican Republic. Hiki, OTOH, has not stressed their differences based on origin, even though Sundra in the outside world represents Jamaica. We are also shown on Raro that they have a "minority" of their own in Flika.

Point being that we should take into account "alliances revealed" may be shown to tell a story about ethnic connections and disparities and not necessarily doomed per the old formula.

Re the idol:
Probst said that Yul had studied the game before coming out there. Therefore Yul saw Terry's mistakes. Terry failed to employ the idol strategically and used it as a mere shield. I took Yul's remark to be reflecting on Terry, saying if he gets in a position where he can change the game he will use it. For example, had Terry used it wisely to shield Nick, Austen, and Sally, Terry could have held onto some numbers and then likely Bruce would have flipped. Terry was shortsighted.

I felt this remark was shown to at least get our hopes up that Yul would play a more complex game. Obviously Yul has no way of knowing what situation may arise, but he promises to seize the day, so to speak. This reflects well on Yul no doubt but is also a good sound byte for benefit of viewers -- already no doubt saying, damn, it will be just like last season.