Was Brandon Really an Idiot?

Several RealityNewsOnline articles about Brandon have talked about him being voted out because of his inability to deal with his dislike for Frank. While I know Brandon made a televised statement about being unwilling to align with Frank, I think that was a red herring heat-of-the-moment statement caused by the realization that his real plan was not going to work. I thoroughly believe Brandon was planning to join back with Samburu and vote out Lex or Tom. However, Kim's reaction to Brandon caused Brandon to realize his great strategizing wouldn't work because he forgot to inform his partners as to his intentions. Why do I think this?

Insider clips of Brandon voting against Kelly show that he planned to get Lex the next week.

On The Early Show, Brandon told Bryant Gumble that he planned to go to the final four with his Samburu teammates. When Bryant questioned this, Brandon affirmed "Even Frank."

Also on that show, Brandon said he realized he couldn't win the day after voting for Kelly when he saw how very upset Kim was. She refused to trust him again and wasn't even sure she could ever be friends. At that point, he told her to vote for him and began making plans to join the jury. That conversation was shown on Survivor, plus a clip of him laid back, picking his teeth, saying he couldn't wait for the next day to pass (when he could join the jury and eat).

In two other interviews (ET Online and CBS web chat), Brandon said that he and Frank spent their free time during their "date" discussing how to get Kim back in the alliance to vote for Lex.

Also in the CBS web chat, Brandon said his plan was to rejoin Samburu and vote out Lex. If Lex had immunity, he would vote for Tom. He had this figured out... all except Kim's reaction to him.

I am not a Brandon fan, and I'm not sure why I'm defending his strategizing, but I think the sum of the evidence indicates that his idiocy was acting without informing his alliance... not the strategy itself. A simple explanation to Kim on the way to tribal council would have put Brandon in the final four.

Cheryl Simoneaux left an MBA and an engineering career to become a professional volunteer and manage her daughter and son's busy schedules. Analyzing Survivor is a family hobby.

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