It looks like Stephanie has a fightin' chance

Coby, Coby, Coby. You had an awful lot of power going into this episode. Gregg and Jenn wanted you around to get the minority votes (you, Caryn, and Janu) so that you all could oust the powerful Koror majority and make it your Final 5. And like I predicted back when Gregg made that deal, that wasn't good enough. You opened your mouth to the wrong people at the wrong time and in the wrong manner, and were promptly booted out. Over Janu of all people. You became the wildcard that was a little too wild and that made people afraid. So your statement that you got voted out because you were a threat was somewhat accurate; you threatened everyone's plans and presented them an easy target for this first vote. Pulling Stephenie aside and telling her everything, in front of everyone, was not a good move. So Coby, you were voted out, over of all people, Janu, who was practically begging to be voted out, and Stephenie, who in my mind should have been voted off, although I love her to pieces.

So now it's the mighty Koror tribe

Another first: no new tribe name for these fine folks. Instead, since Koror Ulonged Ulong, they just get to keep their name. Sounds logical to me! It is entertaining to see how Jenn feels all threatened by her 'rival', but let's be serious, Jenn was never a match for Stephenie, but if Jenn doesn't watch it, Stephenie will be able to get rid of Jenn first. So game on for those two. I'm surprised that Ian, Tom and Katie are willing to have a Final Four alliance with Stephenie. I guess they realize she has no alliances with anyone else, so why not? And while I do think she is(was) an easy first vote, the more I think about it, the better an alliance-partner she is, because she has no past alliances to consider. She's desperate to stay in the game, so why not keep her around?

Final Thoughts

Writing this all so much later after the episode aired is definitely not good for remembering all the stuff, but I was pleased by the episode. I'm glad (and surprised) Stephenie is still around. I'm stoked that the real game of Survivor, the politics, is now in full force. Koror is now finally facing the inevitable implosion that all previous tribes have had to deal with. Basically, this season of Survivor is going to be like two first halves of any other season stuck one after the other. There's not going to be any tribal defections as there's no 'other' tribe to defect from. This second half of Survivor is basically just going to be what Koror would normally have done in the first half. Interesting.

Other's Thoughts:

C-Money speaks - Hey Hobie!:

Iiiiiiiitttttssss SURVIVOR TIME!!! (break it down...)

A tribe of one, how long do you think it will last? Will they merge? Will Stephanie have to compete alone? What will happen now??? Let's see...

Starting out with Stephanie feeling sorry for herself. Don't give up hope, girl, you can make it... With Koror, you can tell people are ready to get others out of there. Coby is a hairdresser right? So the girls must be loving having him around, Caryn sure is. Although, having your hair washed is one of the best experiences there are. Guys wouldn't understand that. I think I would be so heartbroken if that map and note in tree mail was just for Stephanie to visit the Koror tribe, not to merge.

Cool! It is a merge! Yay! Let's hope that the game has finally begun! Look at Coby, he's ready to start pulling Steph into his little devious mind. Katie and Jen are just all happy she's there too. Jenn is only happy so she can stab Steph in the back and Katie just needs someone to talk to since Janu lost her mind. And look at Tom, showing what Coby has been talking about for a while now. I guess Coby is considered a "girl" too, huh? Now that the tribe is merged, we finally get to see the drama at the Koror tribe. To watch Tom all shit-faced is pretty funny! But, it looks like Steph is accepted well into Koror and the real drama will begin.

So Coby lays it out for Steph. I like it, but didn't that hurt Shii Ann before? Hmmm... Is this wise? We shall see. So, Steph goes and tells everyone about it. Then, here comes Tom. There is his story to her. So, is she drinking this all in or is she going to use this information WISELY? Again, we shall see. Time for the immunity challenge.

This challenge reminds me of another. Another where 2 young, skinny, bony, sad looking ladies disrobed for chocolate and peanut butter. Who will be the first to be tempted? Coby goes in for the donuts (well Janu would have probably been the first anyway). And the way he is teasing the others... so cruel! And Ian quotes those young ladies I mentioned earlier. Chocolate chip cookies and milk and 4 people bail??? How sad! Didn't they watch the other Survivors? Don't they know that there will BETTER stuff coming? Pizza was the thing that got the others. Tom wins. I think I may be seeing the trend begin with who will win immunity challenges. I also did not like the look that Katie gave to Steph and Caryn when they won the pizza. Did you see it? Not very nice for a "friend", huh? So Tom is safe, will they get rid of Janu? Will they get rid of Coby? Will they vote out Steph? Who will it be, folks?

I like the fact that Janu admits to being ready to go. I wonder if the rest of the tribe will help her out? Ian is pretty tired of Coby's whining, so it was easy to see him put Coby's name down, but does that mean that Tom is with him on that? I see the whole tribe agreed with Ian on that one. Sorry Coby, but you were pretty mouthy lately and not being quiet about it either. I guess Janu didn't "ask" to be voted out as loudly as she wanted to. SO she has to endure a few more days before she gets to go home. Next time, TELL THEM you want to go. Just tell them.

Next week look pretty interesting. Who ever the first person to bail out is going to "castaway" to live alone? COOL!!!

Talk to you next week!!


Squirrel's Comments - Ep 9:

To steal a line from the "Incredibles":
THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED!!!!

Finally, there was an episode that concentrated on the interplay between the people and the strategies they were working on. I'm glad the writers finally took pity upon Steph and merged her into the other tribe. I wonder if they knew this sort of thing would happen or when they saw it happen, they molded things to ensure the string of failures continued. No matter, Steph is in Koror and she's going to have far more power than I think even she realizes.

I was surprised to see Steph dive in the water for pizza but she must have felt there were others (Coby/Janu) that were far more vulnerable. Coby had to know he was going to be on the chopping block by taking Steph aside to give her the 411. Janu is a lazy (expletive deleted) so I knew she was going to be considered too. In the end, I'm sorry to see Coby go however. I like the drama and turmoil he brings to the tribe.

Now, if all the episodes were like this, then it will be an exciting season to watch. Figures! Survivor finally does it the way I like it and I'm off on an extended vacation where I won't be able to watch. Bastards!

The Squirrel Has Spoken

Counterpoint -> Linus:

Links:

CBS Official Site: Ep9 - Still have to say that CBS is providing some amazing supplemental stuff to watch online, if you have a broadband connection that is. Visit and enjoy!

Ep9: "I'm Baitman!" (RNO) - Episode Recap

Why Coby Lost (RNO)

Strategic Overview Ep 9: Coupling (RNO)

Advice for the Remaining 8 (RNO)