Survivor Reaction: Knights of the Round Table

There is no question that Parvati is a virus. We established that a couple episodes back and she is still nervous about it days later. So nervous, in fact, that she enters an alliance with Russell, the owner of a brand new immunity idol. But, since she is Parvati still, she makes sure to tell him that she is still in control. With the magic that Parvati works on her tribe, she is still in a safe position.

This brings us to the other tribe, which seems to have found a Parvati of its own. Now, granted he may not look good in a skimpy bikini, but his Alabama charm works just as well as Parvati’s flirty demeanor. I am of course talking about JT, who no one seems to trust at this point, but seems to have an alliance with everyone. The funny thing is – everyone seems to know this!

But everyone wants very deeply to trust him. Sure, Amanda says “Game on,” but it took her two seconds to bring him in on her and Rupert’s alliance. It was pretty funny to see Colby’s comments bookend this episode. At the beginning he proclaims, “JT is a hero!” But by the end, he is upset at how wishy-washy JT is and says that it will come back to bite him. I guess the charm doesn’t work on Colby. I guarantee he is going to be the next victim of the JT runaround though.

Speaking of the Colbster (I just made that up), perhaps the producers thought that Jeff showed him a bit of favor in the last episode because at the beginning of the reward challenge there were some sparks between the two best buddies. Jeff offered everyone a taste of the chocolate reward but Colby and the rest of the Heroes declined. Colby told Jeff, “Let’s go!” but Jeff smacked him back down, telling him they go when he says go. The best part? Colby was so adamant about refusing the chocolate, but who gets to sit out and hope he gets chocolate for cheerleading later? Colby.

The full-contact basketball session they played suffered the Survivors a couple injuries. Rupert slammed Jerri into a bamboo pole like the champ that he is. Then James buckled his knee, making the Heroes one person short and one reward challenge lost. Medical kept James behind to check him out and build dramatic tension at Heroes Beach. This led to James’ heroic return, with a sobbing Amanda hugging him, and Rupert and Tom cheering as realistically as they could muster.

The path to the final epic showdown between Boston Rob and Russell is being paved some more this week, with, regrettably, little pay-off. Rob is still wary and believes the tribe is behind him. They are right now, for the most part. But today, Russell brought two to his side as he told Parvati and then Coach about the idol. Coach was just pumping Rob up about how terrible Russell is, but now feels honored that Russell shared the idol with him. It was so pathetic to see our noble warrior kneeling before yet another Villain. But Russell’s ego was pumped and he knighted Coach. The King and the Dragon Slayer. It was like a ridiculous game of cosplay. Maybe it was all the sugar they just consumed.

The Villains destroyed the Heroes yet again in the Immunity Challenge. I think it mostly had to do with Jerri’s loud shrill voice overpowering James’ impression of Wolfman Jack. One funny moment was when I noticed blindfolded Rob was escorting blindfolded Courtney like a prom date. Even though the Heroes got their pieces back first, the Villains are just puzzle masters.

It seemed so obvious. James has a bad leg. He has a terrible attitude. He is clearly the one to vote out. Yes, he is built like an Adonis, but the man cannot walk correctly. But the old teams were still against each other. Tom and Colby vs. the folks that were once led by Cirie but now have to deal with Amanda and Rupert to figure it all out. Those folks want Tom out, but Candice flips to vote James out. Meanwhile, JT is swearing to Colby that he is going to vote for James. He is also promising Rupert that they are together. JT had better stick with his Rupert/Amanda/James alliance now or no one is going to trust him. Tom is sent home, and the Heroes are now even weaker.