RNO Roundtable: Can Teresa Save Herself?

As you know, there are many different writers with different opinions here at RealityNewsOnline. So as a way to condense all of that knowledge into one location, we are featuring these different thoughts in our RNO Roundtable column each week. This week we take a look at the last of the Samburu and ask:

David:

Nothing. Not a damned thing. She must either win the next immunity or she is gone. My bet is that she is gone. The promo may show Lex ranting about cutting somebody’s throat, but with the deceptive promos we are almost always offered, we can say with 99% certainty that the Boran alliance will, in fact, stay together. Teresa is the last of the Samburu and will join the jury after this week’s episode.

But let’s take a hypothetical look at what would happen even if she manages to win immunity this time. Either Kim J. or Lex is gone. Then she needs to win immunity yet again, because the triad of remaining Boran still will want her gone, both because she isn’t in their alliance and because they don’t want to face her in the jury.

So, like I said, since the question asks what she can do “other than winning all remaining immunities,” it comes down to a simple, one-word answer: Nothing.

Jeffrey:

Teresa has been an adept student of the game of Survivor. She's picked her allies well, and reconsidered everything as the game shifted. Still, her position is precarious at best. Can she really do anything to salvage her position?

To be honest, I don't see how she can do anything short of winning immunity next time to remain in the game. Actually, it was probably a mistake of the Boran tribe to allow her to remain instead of Kim P., who has shown no ability to organize a defense against almost certain doom. Teresa has. She's offered deals with Kim J. and has shown she can win immunity.

Her weapons in the past have been to exploit the political position at each step. Actually, Clarence was an exception, but it worked out for her long term as Kelly got the blame (and then defected), taking the heat off herself. Since then, it has been Kelly, Brandon, and Frank... people she voted out, then Kim P., instead of the vote she gave Lex. She was hoping to develop the women of Africa into a viable force to win, but when she couldn't get Kim J. to swing over to her side, it was pretty much all over for her (and the other women of Africa).

So what is left for Teresa? Unfortunately, not much. She has no voting allies at this point, and even if somebody in the ex-Boran were to fear for their political position when it comes down to the final four, there isn't enough votes to save herself or her allies. Her only shot right now is to win immunity and let the Boran alliance cut one of their own. In this case, she needs to be prepared ahead of time, and figure out the vote. Make the deal in advance of the vote. She could even push it by looking at the numbers, and if it went to a 2/2 split (disregarding her initial vote), toss hers in the initial round, and then look to see which faction is willing cut a deal to survive the tie-breaker.

If Teresa can't pull off immunity; she's a goner, and then the ex-Boran will be tested again. Who is the weakest link; and who can each of the remaining survivors WIN against?

Susan:

I think I may disagree with all the other writers here. I do not see Teresa in trouble. I see Kim being eliminated before I see Teresa. Teresa has been doing everything correctly as far as I can surmise, except perhaps not fessing up to Lex she was the original person who voted against him when Clarence was evicted. I see Teresa going to the final four with Lex, Tom, and Ethan. But here is where it will get tricky for her. I honestly can say that if she does not win the immunity challenge when it is the final four, she will be the first person voted out of that episode. If she wins immunity it will most likely be Tom or Ethan. I am guessing Tom because he does have three old Samburu votes against him and Ethan has none.

At this point, I think Lex will make the final two, because who ever is up against Lex knows they will win. I cannot see any of these players going to the final two the way Colby let Tina skate in with him, but if there is any justice in the world, Tom and Ethan will be in the final two and I can live with whomever wins at that point.

Melinda:

What Teresa can do short of winning immunity would be to play on Tom, Kim, and Ethan's anxieties about Lex the Destroyer. He's going ballistic again, and the only targets left are his old allies. Lex still likes Teresa, and doesn't think of her as a potential "traitor." This may be her biggest advantage right now. If she can use the Boran fracture to create a new alliance with Tom, Ethan, and/or Kim, it may take her to the end.

Suzanne:

Teresa needs to convince not just Kim, but Ethan and Tom of the merits of voting out Lex (provided he doesn't win the next immunity challenge.) If Lex does win the next immunity challenge, she'll have to ally herself strongly to either him (which I don't recommend, although it would be priceless if they did ally, and then he found out later that she voted against him) or the others. She should ally herself with Tom and Ethan, since Kim hasn't come through for her on at least two separate occasions now. It still wouldn't hurt Teresa to ally herself with Kim, I just wouldn't put all my eggs in her thong, er, basket. However, the fact Teresa is smart and likeable, without strong allies, puts her in major jeopardy right now, to state the obvious. Now is the time to fish or cut bait. I'm just afraid Teresa won't be invited to the ol’ fishin' hole.

Peggy:

Aside from winning immunity, which I will say a Rosary today for her to do, Teresa does not have many options. I would love to see them all sitting around at breakfast and have Teresa just say it right there. "I voted for you Lex, not Kelly." And then she can sit back and watch the fallout from her little bomb. She has nothing to lose now.

At this point she should know who was the closest to Kelly who was most hurt by Kelly's betrayal. This seems to be MamaKim. Kelly has gone on talk shows discussing how sad she was that Kim Johnson did not believe her or defend her. They had a pact that Kim Johnson let fall aside because Kim thought Kelly betrayed the Boran alliance.

She should convince Kim that Lex sacrificed Kelly to save himself and that proves that he will sacrifice any of the tribe members, including Kim J. in the next week. He broke the alliance so why should Kim J. continue to keep it?

She could do this with any of the other guys also. She has seen how freaky Lex gets when he thinks he is betrayed so the one thing she has to do is be calm about the whole thing. Do not pull a Silas. I would love to see Teresa whisper to Ethan and Kim just enough to make Lex think something is going on. Ethan has said he thinks Lex might be faking his niceness, If Lex thinks he is getting the booted his true colors will show up again fast and then Ethan will ditch him.

Tom has said that Lex has not yet redeemed himself for the Brandon vote so that leaves a great opportunity for Teresa to take Tom aside to say, listen that Brandon vote was not even necessary because Kelly was not the one who voted for Lex, I did. I can see Tom's ears smoking over that one. I think he would be furious that Lex basically traded Kelly for Brandon.

I think it all comes down to one thing. No matter what Teresa says or does, if the players feel the Jury will pick them over Lex, Lex stays.

Charlie:

With only five players left in a game that started with sixteen, you would think that it would mean a 20% chance in winning the game. But in Teresa Cooper's case, I would say her odds are far less. I don't think she has the resources to pull off a miracle. For one, nobody wants to align with her, especially Lex and Ethan who want the money. Why? Because she's likeable. Kim Johnson won't align with her because she's fearful that her past mistakes (blowing challenges for her team) will come back to haunt her. Big Tom is loyal to Ethan and won't do anything that he wouldn't want done. This leaves Teresa in a bad spot. She could win every immunity challenge and make it to the end, but that doesn't mean they write the check for you. Ask Colby or Kelly from previous Survivors. Truth be told, I don't think Teresa can beat Ethan or Big Tom in the jury vote. It would be close, but she would walk away 900K short of the promised land. Dare I say it, she couldn't even beat Mama Kim or Lex in the final vote. Being against Kim Johnson means Lex, Tom, Ethan, and Brandon are in the jury, and I believe they would all vote against Teresa. Being against Lex means Tom, Ethan, Brandon, and Kim Johnson are in the finals, and again, the vote wouldn't go her way.

And make no mistake about it, it's all about the jury vote at this point. If you can't win the jury, what's the point of going to the finals? The Boran members know this. It's why Kim Johnson wouldn't vote with Kim Powers and Teresa this week, because if she's sitting with Teresa or Kim Powers in the finals, then she had to betray someone, and the Boran men might not be too happy about it. Surviving a vote is important, but at this point, everyone has their eyes on the final two. Because of that, Teresa will have to fight for immunity, because nobody will give her a hand in making it any further.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site and be registered for giveaways and special offers! You can find all of our articles about this show at the Survivor: Africa Page, and take a look at our sections on The Amazing Race and Popstars 2. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For even more news about reality TV, be sure to check out RealityTVFans.com, SirLinksALot and the Manly Man!