Survivor: Thailand – I've Got Questions, Who's Got Answers?

Waiting two weeks for episode 11 of Survivor: Thailand was, in reality, anti-climatic. It didn't take Madame Cleo to predict that Jake would be the next to see his torch snuffed out if he didn't win immunity. But as Sook Jai tribe is now officially extinct, new questions arise. Some of them may even have answers.

First of all, was Clay's outburst at Jake after tribal council justified, either from a moral or strategic standpoint? Absolutely not! Jake was simply pleading his case to stay in the game. It IS a game, Clay. Indeed, isn't that why you voted for Jake last week when the rest of your original tribe voted Penny? Ted said it best when he said he saw nothing wrong with Jake's statements, and that Clay's outburst afterwards was childish. Hey Clay, if your two-year-old had an outburst like the one you had tonight, would you whoop its behind and put it to bed? After all, that's what you said you'd do if your child acted out the way Ghandia did at one point.

Later, Clay was obviously very proud of himself, saying to Ted, "Are you proud of me?" Well, even if he was, Clay, probably not as proud as you were of yourself. Can you just see Clay being interviewed by Saturday Night Live's Churchlady, who would probably say to him, "We like ourselves, don't we Clayton?"

But could Ted have handled it any better? Instead of launching into Clay, he said the comments directed at Jake were messed up, but evidently managed to do so without drawing Clay's ire. Obviously, Ted doesn't care much for Clay, but knows how to keep it under wraps. Imagine how he might react if he found out it was Clay who directed voted his way!

Clay's next comment deserves some scrutiny as well. He tells Ted, "It had to be said." Maybe he felt better after telling Jake off, but was it smart from a strategic standpoint? A better question might be if he could've shot himself in the foot more. At times, it looked like he was trying just as hard to lose Jake's vote as he was to win Penny's in final tribal council. Not only did he draw Jake's ire, but apparently Ted's and Helen's as well. Maybe even Jan's, although it's not clear whether Jan has enough of a pulse to even HAVE ire.

At times, Clay has at least been a fairly good strategist, if a rather grumpy one. But now that he has failed to keep his emotions in check, has he cost himself a few votes in the final two? Better yet, will he even MAKE it that far?

There are questions about Helen as well. She told her hubby that Brian played the game with integrity, and Clay would cut everybody's throat. Uh, Helen, are you aware of what Brian used to do for a living? Better yet, would you buy a used car from him? And what would you think of his integrity if you'd heard any of his sexist remarks? No, I doubt he meant any of them, but Helen, you might have a totally different opinion of him if you'd heard those comments before now.

Also, does anyone remember way back in episode whatever, when Helen's fellow CG tribemates sang "Happy Anniversary" to her, and she said she couldn't cry because she worked with a bunch of Navy guys who would give her grief if she did? Maybe she's planning to retire after last night's episode, because she didn't seem to be at all bashful about weeping. Makes you wonder if S1's Rudy was at home watching and saying, "C'mon, suck it up!"

Finally, when Helen and her hubby were in the tent together, did he grind against her when he was half-asleep? Speaking of which, did anyone else get the impression that one of the main reasons he won the food challenge was because he was afraid of facing her wrath if he didn't? She was egging him on like a gambler who just bet his life-savings on the Super Bowl. Just what would've been her reaction if he'd ended up losing?

Is seeing the castaways see their relatives out in the wild becoming predictable and tiresome? In my opinion, no, because Mark Burnett keeps adding new twists to it. First of all, just when we though there'd be no "gross food" challenge among the castaways, it turned out we were HALF right. There was one after all, but it was their RELATIVES who had to bite down and swallow. How many of them were soon saying, "Rub-a-dub dub, no thanks for the grub (beetles)?" Of course, the last person to eat a grub beetle on Survivor until now was Stacey Stillman. Hopefully, none of the relatives will be consulting a lawyer..

Speaking of the food, the relatives dined on ants, scorpions, tarantulas, and grub beetles in playing for their castaway. After it was over, did Jan take any of the leftovers and bury them in her "Pet Cemetery"? And if so, did she name any of them?