Survivor: Samoa – Who Will Go in Episode 8?

I almost hate to say it, but I have to agree with Mole-winner Mark this week and I’m getting the same negative vibe this season. It has been, frankly, pretty dull and predictable. It’s really hard to root for anyone this time around since those who have been booted have been so freaking obvious. I don’t think my record of picking the next evictee has been this good in a long time. Really, I’ve only missed one out of seven so far and even on that one I was pretty close.

But now we have the merge and a new fresh hope that the game will finally start turning into something strategic. With Russell and his little sidekick, Natalie, the game has a chance of being almost interesting if the two of them can stir some stuff up. I like how the two of them have different tactics, but similar motives in working other players. It’s fun to watch if you know what to look for.

With the merge brings new craziness and game playing. Did you notice in this week’s previews (there weren’t any clues from CBS or TV Guide worth anything this week), that in all the jockeying for who to vote out next, every one of the names brought up were Galu? Monica, Laura, Shambo, and Erik are all shown as targets as people jockey for position and political power in the new tribe.

There are some serious factions happening and because of that, I suspect that the Foa Foa will be fine for a few more episodes and we’ll see some praying mantis or black widow imagery on our screens.

Who is safe?

Russell – Once again, I completely believe Russell is safe and still running the show. Did you notice in previews that he is the one everyone appears to be running to in order to garner votes? According to Liz’s interview with RNO, he and Natalie are extremely tight and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in a good-cop, bad-cop type strategy where they play opponents off of each other. Russell is still “the man” on the island and still worthy of playing hard.

Natalie – There is one clue from CBS that gives us an inkling of game play this week, and it talks about an unexpected manipulator. Natalie may not be the sharpest tool, but she’s the sweetest. I think that, like she did with Laura, she is friendly and sweet enough to garner trust from some from Galu, especially since she appears not to be playing as hard or as smart as she really is. She certainly is a puppet, but she is playing the social game well. She will continue deep into the game while others fall around her.

Mick – Because Galu is in the business of eating their own this week, Mick can sit back and watch the army of Galu fall around him. The men are against the women in Galu, so he stays under the radar, especially because Jaison will self-destruct soon enough.

Who is along for the ride, but okay for now?

John/Brett/Dave – I actually think any of these three Galutes are safe this week because others will be thrown under the proverbial bus by their tribemates. But I think these three are in for a surprise. Remember how they think they have Shambo as a puppet in their alliance? Do you also remember how well Foa Foa treated Shambo while her own tribe pretty much left her out to dry? I’m sure she remembers and it wouldn’t take much for her to realize that she is number five in an alliance of five and has the possibility of moving her position forward.

Shambo – She may not be the sharpest tack, as Liz said, but her U.S. Marine sense of loyalty will kick in when she realizes that she isn’t being kept around for her leadership skills (or I can only hope that’s what will happen). Like I said above, I think she will start to figure out the pecking order and realize that she needs to move her position up, even if it’s only by one.

Laura – Laura is smart and Russell knows it. It’s only a matter of time before he chops her because she’s the most intelligent and strongest woman left on the island. He won’t be able to manipulate her and she’ll be toast. For now, he’ll keep her as a potential tool to help vote out some of the stronger males from Galu before she’s expended.

Kelly – I mis-labeled Laura in a second paragraph last week and meant Kelly. A few of you caught me on that and I thank you. Yes, I meant Kelly. Kelly who?

Who is on their last thread?

Jaison – This guy is a mess and the world knows it. If Galu wasn’t so busy trying to get rid of one of their own, they’d sniff out that Jaison has virtually given up and take advantage of getting a strong male out. He’s not long for the game, but I think there still may be bigger targets.

Monica – I think Monica is still a target of the Galute males in order to break up the Mean Girls alliance. She’s probably the weakest of the females, which at this point should be a reason to keep her, but her story arc in the editing tells us she won’t last long either. She’s on the radar, but not this week.

Erik – I debated between either Erik or Dave going home. The thing is, Erik’s name was the only man’s name brought up by the former Galus to go home. Typically, the merge is a great time to send a strong male home. It’s also a great time to blindside someone, especially if they hold an idol and don’t realize they need to play it. Is the opportunity there? Absolutely!

I get the feeling that Russell can see the great divide in the Galu tribe and will use it to his advantage. He’s all about weakening where he can, and right now, he has the opportunity to use his weakened Foa Foa tribe to garner allegiance with the weaker Mean Girls alliance to start picking off the strong males. It won’t take long for them to self-destruct on themselves before they realize what happened.

The wrath of Russell continues and Erik is out.

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Kari doesn’t have much of a life between work, school, triathlon training, and Survivor. She has been a rabid Survivor nut since the very first episode aired. Please send any comments, questions, and thoughts about Survivor: Samoa to her at flystorms2@yahoo.com.

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