LAST EDITED ON 03-26-16 AT 09:12 AM (EST)

You sum it all up nicely, Squid. I agree with everything you have pointed out.

Definitely, Debbie shined in the recap, pointing out she wants a girl to win, and going on the offense, then it was about Julia fending for herself, and later about Tai making the decision to play his idol or not. No mention of the work that Scot did to help him manage that idol.

Tai had the first confessional and recognized he first had to work hard, and he needed some luck. The more people that knew he had the idol, the less power it had. Astute.

Then, Peter gave a confessional about abandoning the brain trust which would be at the crux of the entire episode. It seems that there is no place for indecision on Survivor. Then, Peter went to talk to Tai, and before he did, we saw a picture of a scorpion on screen. After the talk Peter continues... I am not going to let them get between me and million dollars, so If I am going to make a move, now’s the time.
Ominous music played throughout this confessional.

Cut to the intro.

Then we have an astute Nick confessional. He notes that he tries to be happy but inside he feels like an athlete ready to start a contest with nervous energy. From here on out he'll bond and make relationships, play or go home. He then starts to talk about how Debbie is easy to read, and that she needs to be heard, so he will listen, and be someone that she admires, Debbie.

Then we get Debbie's perspective on Nick looking like a greek god, chisled features and angular jaw, she knows she was a model for years and years and years. But, her strategy will not be affected by him because she needs to make the merge her number one priority.

Then Nick has another confessional about Debbie having a crush on him. Debbie might have a crush on me, she probably does but maybe she’s buttering me up, maybe she is blowing smoke up my rear end but I doubt it.

Debbie has told us multiple times in previous episodes, she is the mastermind, but they will not see her coming, and clearly Debbie notes despite her actions toward Nick, she will not be swayed from her number one priority, and Nick notes that he has her pegged, and clearly he's underestimating her as Squid notes as well. He is dismissing Debbie, so if she moves, he won't see it coming.

Debbie and Nick follow with one more confessional about the basketball challenge, "we have our own Adonis, Nick", and "I don't have too much pressure on me, but I still want to make a few".

I thought Nick showed his strength at the RC, he's a competitor and he almost took the NBA player down.

Michele got the post RC confessional about how she screwed up but now has to go back to camp and keep fighting, and that is exactly what we saw her doing.

When we went back to Gondol, there was happy music, festivity going on...and, Michele's cohort, Julia gets the first confessional that is very similar to Michele's. She noted that she was so happy she got to return to her home camp as winners of the reward, rather than losers. She notes that since they just got Anna out, she's going to need to start back from scratch.

Peter immediately notes that he's happy with her because she doesn't strike him as someone conniving, and that is someone that he can work with. He tells Julia that Aubrey is the important player to get out, she's the bigger player!

Julia in confessional tells us how Peter latched on immediately and that he wants Aubry out, and she's good with it, she's gotta save herself. (This is still followed by ominous music, however!)

Then, we hear Aubry's perspective, she'd prefer to keep working with the Brains tribe and keep the numbers, go for the easy target, Julia. But, she's suspicious of Peter. She notes he's a little bit rogue right now, and wonders if this is the time to cut him.

Cut to nuChanloh

Nick: Has confessional regarding the loss, he shoulda won, but it was Michele that botched it in the beginning. Not very sympathetic to his original tribe member....not a good sign.

Then Michele has a meaty confessional:
Today is not the best day for my survivor game. A girl who was in my top 2 alliance got voted out. Besides that I just put my head on the chopping block by blowing that challenge and it freakin sucks. Every thing that has built up to this point, it feels like it’s teetering, but I am not one to give up. I might have to start over but so I am just going to try and use my social skills and build myself back up.

As Squid notes, this confessional is very similar to Julia's conviction on the other tribe. Both girls were in a great situation, tragedy befalls them, they get down on the luck, and then they vow to restart, and fight their way back with their social skills. And, Survivor IS a social game at the core! Positive edits for both beauty's, I agree! And, as Squid also noted, we got hit with the "I want a girl to win this season" in the intro again, so we have to consider that Michele and Julia may very well end up as contenders for that sole title!

Michele then comments on Debbie, she likes her, she's a bit quirky, but she could be her best option. When Michele asks Debbie who she would target first if they were to go to TC, Debbie tells her, Jason, because he's lazy, she doesn't care for him that much, he doesn't do much around camp. She would rather have a woman win this, and right now we are outnumbered.

Clearly, Debbie tells Michele what she wants to hear, so I question if she was sincere or not, but clearly, it's the second time we've heard her reiterate that she wants a woman to win. And, I am starting to get those vibes, that a women will indeed win this season! I also want to note this is the second time we have blatantly heard that Jason is not liked. First by Jennifer, but she was no match, with her indecision, for him. We knew that Alecia didn't like him either. Now, Debbie is on board with that. Jason is turning into quite a nice villain.

Then Michele goes to tell Nick what Debbie told her, and Nick flat out dismisses it. Says that you are still the target, she just tried to tell you that so you won't be nervous. Tells her they are not going that way. I agree with Michel, you can see her disdain on her face as he talks.

I loved Michele's confessionals in regard to Nick: The way that Nick speaks to me is not in a way that I would ever tolerate any man speaking to me in my regular life and I just want to say like, BRO, I know, but that’s his ego.

This confessional is very astute, she's got him pegged and apparently she is right on the money. I also love how she doesn't argue with him, she listens. Nick goes on to tell her that he doesn't trust Neal or Debbie. Then he has the confessional: I have to almost coach Michele. She’s young and she doesn’t really know how to manipulate so that’s going to be my job from here on out, making sure she says that right things and she comes across the right way.

Nick tells her they will stick with the brawn until they can get to the other side and Michele has another confessional: Right now what I am going to do is to let Nick just baby me and like make him believe that I need all the help that he can offer, like the innocent little girl, like I’m stupid. But, actually I am a strong independent woman and when it comes time to make a move then I will, I don’t need to be carried, BRO!

I love that she mocks him with the BRO! She's got his number.

Clearly, she is so far above Nick on her social skills and her assessments, and Nick appears condescending and clearly dismissing Michele and her assessments. Underestimating her, JUST as he underestimated and dismissed Debbie earlier. Combine all these confessionals with the visual that we had last week when Nick spoke about how happy he was to be in this new tribe with a 2-2-2 split, of the very large centipede being devoured by the colony of little ants. I am convinced that the little people, specifically Michele and Debbie, will take this big man down. And soon!

Then we return to nuChanloh and Joe has his confessionals about not trusting Peter, but he's trained to deal with these types. Peter has responding confessionals, telling his side, Joe starts accusing me of trying to vote him out, and there is a certain element of truth to that and I’ve been trying as hard as possible to make that happen and unfortunately it just blew up on me.

Joe confessional about how when you corner them they start dancing and that is exactly what Peter did, so if they go to TC, he may have to vote him out. Then we cut to the IC, and it was Peter's strategy to stack the small blocks first then insert the middle blocks, it didn't work, and they lose. Joe gets the post IC confessional: keeping Peter numbers wise would make sense if he was a straight shooter. But you just don’t know what he is gonna do and before you get in to a position, OMG, I’m in trouble, you take the trouble OUT.

Joe makes it crystal clear how he feels about Peter. Aubry, otoh, doesn't like Peter but recognizes it's not the right time, because then Scot, Tai, and Julia would have the power. So she convinces Joe that it's not the right time. Joe then proceeds to eat crow and make amends of a sort, and Peter buys into it, he will vote to take out Julia and not stir up the water.

Then, Scot goes to Peter and asks him who he is voting for, and has a narrational confessional: Peter is voting with the brains so every thing he told me is a lot of bs. He is a snake and I think everybody sees right through his veneer but still they are going to stick together and that doesn’t give the rest of us a lot of options. But, he goes and tells Tai and Julia, and then they go to bat!

Julia first has a confessional about how it is she on the chopping block. Then we see she and Tai go to talk to Aubry, and we saw a snake precede this conversation. We see them make their pitch, always good to point out to the person that the person you want gone, is going after them! Aubry played it cool to them, but then had a confessional about what she is thinking: First she said she wasn't surprised that he had mentioned Joe, but her? She was going with the devil you know mantra but now, Peter is such a wild card, are we really gonna go with someone that is going to blindside you or you blindside him...

Tai and Scot have confessionals that express doubt, that they will most likely do the easiest thing, vote out Julia. Aubry has the last confessional pre TC...I don't know what I am going to do, vote out Peter and lose Joe's trust or not?

To me, there is no place for indecision in Survivor. Or, if you have indecision, do NOT show it. Scot in contrast to Peter, Aubry, and Joe, was decisive at TC, and look what happened. Stick with the original plan. Period. Peter was screwed because he was so indecisive. If you are making a move then make it, don't half a$$ it, cause people see you doing that. Aubry and Joe were also indecisive to me. Joe called Aubry out for it, but Aubry was indecisive too. I don't think it bodes well for either of these characters in this story.

This was a very interesting and meaty episode, I thought. Clearly, there were many players that had a large spike with their confessionals, 5 out of the 11 left! The five included: Nick, Michele, Joe, Aubry, and Julia. But, for me, I wonder if the winner is among them, or is it one of the other 4 that have had consistent comments throughout the entire season? (Tai, Scot, Jason, Debbie). I just don't know.

Getting hit over the head with the "I want a woman to win this season" does give me hope that a woman will indeed win this season, but I love Squid's comment on Tai, in that regard. Clearly, Michele and Julia had the positive edits of the spikers. Nick is being set up for a big fall, most likely at the hands of Debbie and Michele. Aubry and Joe had a down turn to their edits. Joe had not had a confessional in the previous 3 episodes, so I am not encouraged regarding his longevity. They were all indecisive, and Peter was booted for it. Will the others be soon to follow?

Also, I wanted to comment on the others that had no confessionals: Neal, Cydney, and Jason. Jason was talked about in a negative way. He's clearly going to be the villain, imo, this season. We see him making a mean remark in the preview promo about stuffing nerds in lockers. But, I will say that Jason is multi-dimensional, because we cannot forget how he treated Cydney at that horrible challenge.

I am discouraged regarding Neal's chances now. He's now had 2 episodes with no confessionals. He is a strong presence in challenges though. I am worried about Neal as a surprise boot soon, with these episodes with no confessionals. Could he be a medivac?

Cydney is the most encouraging though. She went under the radar but she is a girl, so she could win this if a girl is going to be a winner. She is in good stead with Debbie, and with the Brawns. She will be sitting pretty, she's smart, strong, and she's very socially aware. She really managed the conflict at Brawn camp very well. I am beginning to think that Cydney could be a contender and that there is a lot more to her story left to tell. Food for thought. I also see ALOT of alphas in this season so I have to wonder if a beta will win it as well?