michel, disagree away! The way I see it, there is a definite upside -- we get to cover even more angles of the editing. Thanks for clarifying who prompted the Cecelia boot as well even if, upon reviewing the tape, I couldn’t find the relevant scene; her name was mentioned in passing on at least a couple of occasions after the fact, though not specifically when she was first singled out. (don’t worry, just chalk it down to my addled brain ) Regardless, you raised some excellent points which has led to this, my latest round of ramblings.

With regards to Ozzy, though there’s no denying he possesses a mean streak, I don’t think he’s getting a ‘typical’ villain’s edit. If anything, a concerted effort is being made to downplay it and, actually, try and spin it as a positive. (as was discussed last week with Aitu throwing the challenge, he got off lightly in the editing) My take on the scene with Becky and the machete (and previously with Billy) was that the editors were probably looking to have a bit of fun by being deliberately over-dramatic -- underscoring the incident with appropriately threatening music so to make Ozzy come across as a bit of a psychopath and drive home the message he is to be feared. I prefer to liken Ozzy to an assassin, somebody you shouldn’t even think about crossing or else the consequences will be dire. He will be your friend until you become his enemy. What’s more certain about Ozzy: he doesn’t like mess. He will deal with problems speedily and, like a professional hitman, eliminate his targets with clean precision.

When he was working the three women on the walk along the shore, I wasn’t convinced that he believed that “Becky was seriously plotting.” It felt random, something said for effect to seal the deal with Flicka, Sundra and Cecelia. It’s unfortunate for him that Flicka spilt the beans with barely a hint of strong-arming from Jonathan but, to be fair, he wasn’t to know about her dithering nature. What we can safely assume is that Ozzy won’t be making that mistake again.

One last thing about Ozzy, for now, is that his character is somewhat analogous to Jonathan. They both like to be in charge, (Jonathan less so, maybe) undoubtedly have issues with tribe mates and are not are slow to express them. The key difference is that whilst Jonathan is able to prevent those frustrations from manifesting in the open (though he was getting there with Flicka), Ozzy can’t help but act out on them. It will be interesting to see, on the assumption they are endgame players equally, what lies in store for us in terms of this parallel editing.

Speaking of Flicka, whatever she’s got it isn’t ‘game.’ She’s here to have a good time but all the strategy is making her head spin, poor girl! VS may well be right that she’ll be dragged along anyway but I would be genuinely shocked if she reaches anywhere near the finish line. At least she has Cowboy for company in the meantime, her kooky partner in crime.

About Becky, I’ll buy that she is a ‘doer’ and demonstrated enough savvy to align with Yul from the beginning. What I can’t shake is the feeling that all the strategising, encouraging as it is for her chances, is at Yul’s behest. She knows she’s in a good situation with him and has gone about her business with the sole purpose of ensuring his offer of protection is maintained. It’s not unlike in her own profession of law when the interns and paralegals stumble over one another as they go out of their way for the lead attorney or star litigator of the firm in the hope of catching the eye and be mentored. Except, of course, Becky’s advancement (in the game) is already assured by Yul (having taken her under his wing) AND the HII. Yul says he trusts her and so far she seems eager enough to repay that faith. For how much longer, though, and aren’t all lawyers not supposed to be trusted? Two-person alliances tend not to be successful on their own at the beginning of the individual stage of the game because they draw unwanted attention and usually are primed to be broken up by others as early as possible, especially if it is readily evident, as it has been made out to be here. There was also a sense of foreshadowing when Yul expressed his concerns about the numbers game after Candice, a member of their five-man alliance, was sent to EI.

Nathan is easy to like, a happy-go-lucky sort who we wouldn’t mind lasting a while longer in the game. The ‘feel good’ nature of his edit in the latest episode probably helps to serve that purpose. I would also like to reference my comments about him pre-game as I feel it may be relevant:

So, in a nutshell, then, Nathan is a nice guy. Personable characters don’t usually get voted off early – I think I remarked on that last season – possibly because they engender goodwill that tribes welcome, maybe even need at the outset. That said, it tends to bring diminishing returns as the game progresses, the fear that carrying such a person to the final two would make him/her difficult to beat. My first thought was Nathan could be the Nick of last season.

emydi, lol at the Star Wars comparison. If you’ll indulge me, I can’t resist quoting the immortal words of Yoda as advice that Ozzy could take heed of -- “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” Anakin Skywalker couldn’t tame the beasts within him and it did, indeed, bring suffering. Is Ozzy going to leave a trail of carnage behind him in the game that ends up ruining his chances of a win?

VS, am glad you posted your thoughts. I see we both lean towards discounting the chances of Parvati and Candice. (in my case, more so) I honestly don’t read much into the admittedly protracted banter of Cecelia getting the lowdown on the Billy-Candice affair. To my mind it was just too whimsical and amusing -- albeit at Billy’s expense -- not to include. After all, in stories of unrequited love, we like to see it from both sides, don't we? For Parvati, if her flirting really is a strategy and, if we can credit it, it’s actually a clever ruse for a stealthier plan, I would be disappointed that, her charm offensive and pretty visuals notwithstanding, we’re not getting suitably recompensed with her current edit as someone with that potential. It could change, of course, but, at the risk of getting hung up about this, the composition of our leading players appears to have been set and, consequently, her being featured is simply a retrospective nod to her eventual longevity and landing a respectable spot outside the major finishing places.

VH