LAST EDITED ON 11-21-10 AT 01:23 AM (EST)

Re: Jane's fire without flint -- didn't Gretchen (I think that was her name) use BB's glasses on the very first Survivor to start a fire? I seem to remember that, but of course I could be wrong.
Re: themes this season. I agree that there isn't really an evil this time. I especially agree with you about Alina -- I love Alina & didn't get all the "hate" the editors were trying to make us feel for her. Marty, of course, is a pompous a$$, Brenda is too cocky and Benry is an a--hole (imo -- I can just tell looking at him, plus he will NEVER live down the "dirt squirell" comment he said about Alina -- totally sexist pig -- and he was a camera guy for those horrid Girls Gone Wild video & he's proud of that -- unforgivable as far as I'm concerned). Those are part of their characters & while I'm sure the editing helped show those parts of them, they are predominately that way IRL, so it didn't take much to show them that way re: the edit.
Anyway, I was just trying to think about how the editors want us to see this cast, because the editing hasn't been super-positive toward anyone except arguably Jud (they still show his goofiness although not as much as they could -- as Veruca points out in her editing thread). Yeah, I'm sure one could say Jane is getting a positive edit, but her rant about Marty's kids was pretty over the top (they could have left that for the Insider Clips) & they didn't have to show her eating that fish by herself if they wanted a true "hero" edit for her. Yes, that scene was juxtaposed with a confessional from Sash saying he was happy to sit on his lazy butt while the old people worked (not in so many words) which took some of the sting out of Jane's hoarding of the fish, but still.
I know I'm grasping at straws here. The biggest problem for the editors this season in constructing a theme, imo, is this cast of duds. I hate to agree with Marty, but most of them don't seem to be playing the game -- and those who are, are resented for it (see Alina). Marty & Brenda were definately playing the game too; however, they were not playing a GOOD game, imo, because they couldn't shut up about it, to us or to their fellow tribe members at TC or to those not in their alliance (see Marty v. Holly & Jane). I'm left with Sash & Fabio as the only other two who are playing good games, but in different ways. And really, if Sash didn't have the HII he'd be the next to go, so his game isn't *that* good, it is just good compared to the others.
I said before that the only theme I see is Smart v. Dumb. I still think that is the most likely theme, if that is a theme, this season.
Survivor needs to stop casting models/actors/beach bodies & go back to casting real people who want to play the game & not to the camera, imo.