Hey Michel, and all,Just wanted to check-in about the question of Malcolm improvising at TC when Phillip was voted out. The answer is no, like I had suspected (I don't mean to burst anyone's bubble - it was still a great TC!) As we hoped, this would come out in exit interviews. And fortunately Rob C asked some great questions to Malcolm during his Rob Has a Podcast exit interview (which is also posted on Youtube)
Here are some of the responses relative to our discussion here:
>
>- In this episode, we also had the scene when the
>7 in the majority alliance were on the beach reviewing
>their voting plan before heading over to TC (when Andrea
>and Dawn shared that they witnessed Malcolm finding the idol).
> This left Malcolm, Reynold & Eddie alone
>
Rob C asked Malcolm how much discussion happened before TC, and if the other 2 bro's knew about the idol going in.
Malcolm told Rob C that he found the new idol 45 minutes before TC. And Malcolm confirmed that he told Eddie and Reynold about the idols at this time. He mentioned Andrea and Dawn sprinting off to tell everyone else, and Malcolm pulled the guys aside.
>
>- Then there's Reynold's reaction to finding out that Malcolm
>had an idol (after Malcolm used Reynold's idol at last TC).
>We did not see this. While I don't necessarily think
>Reynold would've been upset with Malcolm (plus Malcolm could
>easily back pedal out of that), we didn't see any
>real emotion come from Reynold during the TC. Malcolm
>would've had take precautions with any damage control about
>this, and let Reynold in on the fact that he was
>holding an idol. Therefore, the question would go more
>along the lines of this: did he tell Reynold about both
>idols at the same time? If so, that makes it
>really easy for Malcolm to explain and move past,
>as he'd be using it save his "amigo"
>
This is indeed what happened according to Malcolm! Malcolm confirmed that during this aside discussion with Eddie & Reynold before the TC, that it was the first time that Reynold found out that Malcolm had his own idol. Rob C asked Malcolm if Reynold was pissed, and Malcolm responded that Reynold was "okay" and that maybe there was a "moment" (otherwise) but that Malcolm was bring them "good tidings" with the plan to use both idols. So Malcolm surely used his finesse in this way.
>Regarding your other questions, I'm thinking Phillip was the
>predetermined target.And while I agree with Malcolm that Phillip
>is too militaristic and that the game should be fun too,
>I don't think these were the only reasons Malcolm chose
>Phillip as the boot choice. Phillip would be the
>least likely to ever align with the "3 amigos," so
>that makes him the best choice. As for whether they
>planned to announce it at tribal, this is the part
>I'm least sure about. That being said, I think
>they could've gotten more bang for their buck out of
>a different declaration at TC. Whether improvised or not,
>I think Malcolm may have gotten a bit myopic over
>the theatrics about making this great move now, rather than
>ensuring him some more breathing room moving forward.
>
Malcolm admits that he could've played it better. He wanted to play it to not give away either idol. With further prodding from Rob C, Malcolm states that it would've been better not to have called out Phillip as to being the one who was getting their votes. He went on to even say that it was a "mistake"
My overall sentiments remain that this was a fun display to watch in the game. And yes, there was some improvisation on Malcolm's part, just not at TC. It was 45 minutes before (which we were not shown as viewers) To me, this explains why Malcolm didn't play it better at TC. I think if Malcolm had more time, he would've settled for a smarter play, rather than the more showy one that we got. Yes, he couldn't have predicted what the opposing alliance was going to say or do at TC, but Malcolm could've controlled his own words. It would've been in his better interest not to have revealed who the "3 amigos" were voting for. One can say that in being so determined that the "3 amigos" stood strong to vote against Phillip, that Malcolm might have lost some of his flexibility and savvy to outwit them at TC, and the possibility for him to sway their votes in a way where he would've allowed him to feel more comfortable to hold onto an idol. In an interesting twist, I believe Malcolm would've likely fared better if there actually was more improvisation at TC.
-- aaron