Now that people are making cases for Jud here, I'd just like to point out that Veruca had him picked out from the get go, and give her a hand. Here are her comments:

EP 1
A point of interest seems to be a theme of underestimation in connection with first impressions as the older tribe (or some of them as reflected upon by Jane) may be underestimated and Shannon is perhaps underestimating Jud all based on first impressions

More of Jud’s antics are shown…..

Jud (conf) “The name Fabio man, I didn’t even realize I was being called that at first. (Shannon and Benry I believe are shown whereupon Shannon calls Jud an idiot) Fabio like rides a white horse and is kind of a cheeseball, I don’t care what they call me, I’m going to win the million dollars…”

(This confessional pushed Jud in great territory as it told us he is perhaps being underestimated and despite his goofy persona, he is playing this game to win the million dollars. Jud seems fully prepared to allow the others to have misconceptions about him and that can bode very well for his end game as he is underestimated – hitting the theme squarely)

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Ironically Jud (despite the goofiness shown in his edit) felt the most promising in his edit for a number of reasons. He encompassed the theme of older vs. younger where we see him reflecting briefly on the makeup of his tribe and while he states that this is going to be fun and perhaps bumping him down on the end game player scale, he turns that around with his latter confessional that he will win the million. He also captured the theme of impressions and misconceptions as Shannon practically disregards him and Jud advises us in his confessional that he is aware of the Fabio name and doesn’t care as he is going to win. What is interesting about Jud is that his “persona” appears to lack substance because of his personality and ways that were shown but there were hints of a player there that the players and the audience may underestimate. Jud even had a first confessional and that certainly helps his case as well.

EP TWO

Jud received ample camera time this episode and I will assume (perhaps not a good thing) that the situation between Naonka and Jud was televised for a reason – perhaps setting up some future issue with the two of them (not to mention the exchange at TC). Clearly, we were not meant to sympathize with Naonka in this situation and regardless of the fumbling and bungling he is shown to do – I do feel the editing could make Jud look worse and turn him into a caricature of himself. Jud is obviously a free spirit and his actions provide entertaining television regardless of end game or not. His first episode confessional does help his case for longevity and I think that the editors could dial it up a notch on his “dumb blondeness” should that be the bane of his edit. Time will tell.

In the scheme of thematic connections, it is interesting that Naonka stated in her confessional the persona of Jud that was picked up from the first episode, i.e. Jud is not considered a threat which is the type of UTR player that I look for – I classify UTR differently than the Butch’s or Kim’s. My type of UTR is someone that could be athletic or can be social or can be loud but is completely off the radar due to something about them that is not considered any threat to win this game; in this case, the edit is showcasing Jud as a non threat because he is “dumb.” Jud is athletic, young and gregarious which is (on paper) threatening but Shannon dismissed him and now Naonka has also dismissed him.

Jud’s persona is still being highlighted as carefree and goofy and we hear the term dumb and commentary that he is not a threat. Jud makes good television; he is someone who will be featured because he is a defined personality but I never discount anyone who is given extra time when not necessary and one can’t forget that he has been dismissed as dumb but we were told he does not care what others’ think because he is here for a million dollars.

At this juncture, Jud, Brenda, Chase, Sash and Alina are the five individuals that could have significant showings based on manipulation, storylines and ties to the themes.

EP 3

Of note again, Jud, Benry and Chase were left out of the narration as part of Shannon’s majority and while we know that Benry and Chase jumped from that alliance, Jud was still not named and was not named as being in trouble – only Alina and Kelly B. were named.

Jud (conf) “My strategy bro is to be out in the open and kinda make people laugh and be all crazy but it goes deeper than just ha ha, let’s keep him around because he is funny (he then has to stop talking because he needs to kick a hermit crab off his foot) It’s like I want to be kept around for more than just cause I’m funny, I want to be kept around for my mentality, my spirit, whatever you want to call it”

This confessional *appears* to have been taken from an earlier time, I believe that his beard growth was less than the present episode but it is hard to be sure since he is so light. Regardless, I found this to be a *somewhat* important confessional but it is also mixed with a bit of contradiction and this is why I find Jud’s edit a bit perplexing and because of that, his edit does raise my brow.

Again we are to hear from Naonka that Jud is stupid, we heard this from Shannon as well. These are the two characters that are extremely vocal and one is gone and the other is receiving an edit that cannot be good for her chances. Now, quite often, his televised moments would appear to support this. But, despite the comedic and “airheaded” persona that Jud receives (and it is enhanced by musicality and visuals) on two occasions Jud gave us insight that reflects his head is in the game.

Despite Jeff even stating that Jud needs to get his head out of the trees in the hopes that everyone could get along, Jud was a voice of social logic despite that it may not be possible. There is no question Jud is being manipulated and I cannot forget that impressions and underestimation are themes being touched upon. Currently, his pressing storyline is the issue Naonka has with him but it is interesting that he was removed from the Shannon situation when he was, in fact, still aligned with Shannon at the Tribal Council. Kelly B. was lumped with Alina to be in a vulnerable spot yet Kelly didn’t vote for Brenda, Jud did.

Jud’s character progression has done nothing to dissuade me thus far that he is long term and it would not surprise me if he is shown consistently and constantly underestimated. The contradiction would be that the editors are seemingly in love with the idea of reinforcing his goofiness; one might question if that is to just simply highlight an entertaining character despite duration or make a concerted effort to have the audience really like Jud – with the *taint* that Russell has provided audiences for the last two seasons (despite not winning) this could be a premeditated decision to bring back a breath of fresh air should Jud reach end game

Naonka (conf) “Jud, he’s so stupid, I can’t stand him… I know the first time I laid eyes on him, that I wasn’t going to like him, such an airhead… “ (More dislike coming from Naonka over Jud and again, the editing does not reflect that her opinion is validated as the tribe seems to like him and his characterization is not attempting to have the audience agree with Naonka)
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Jud has been my pick since I saw his cast video before the premiere. His first confession was a little goofy, but its presence made him a contender. All season I have thought of him as my Scarlet Pimpernel character.

Before the season began, due to Jeff's comments I thought that Chase was going to win, but that was prior to seeing Chase in action. The Chase on Survivor did not hold up to Jeff's billing. He could be heroic but now we have Brenda mocking him as a baby.

My favorite line of the season for Jud was his tired of playing dumb comment, as I'm sure it was for many people. I've been waiting 8 weeks to see Jud crack the mask, and it's finally happening.