Survivor: The Amazon – More Thoughts on Why Rob Voted Out Deena

John thinks he has the answer as to why Rob voted off Deena:

The first, and perhaps primary, reason that Rob voted Deena off was she was the only person out there that he respected as a threat. Not a physical threat (that goes to Matt and Alex obviously), but in the one arena that he likes to fancy himself as being supreme in, namely, intelligence.

Don't believe the hype that he was voting off Dave simply because he was jealous of the man's looks, and his easy ways with the ladies, or even his physical skills. Dave was clearly the brains behind the Roger-Butch-Dave alliance. He was also a rocket scientist. You've got to figure the guy has brains, and is doing some serious thinking...add in the other stuff, and he's a definite pick.

Deena [is a] strong physical threat (she has won, or been at the top in all elimination challenges). Rob has to consider that he can't beat her in any physical challenges that might come up at the end of the game. Political... the one true threat. She is playing, and Rob most likely could see that she was playing. There is NO way to guarantee her loyalty. She has every reason to drop Rob when he's no longer useful. She is devious, scheming... these are Rob's strengths. Everyone else is going for bonds of loyalty, binding bonds to the end... she is out to win by whatever means necessary.

So, if you're playing for the end game, you have to reach the end game. You get rid of the one true political thinker left other than yourself. Once that's out of the way, you can worry about other threats. How perfect that the 'dupes' all work along towards that goal. Don't believe for an instant that the 'fake' story was fake at all. He comes back and jokes about it. It reassures everyone that Matt is an idiot... see, no threat, no reason to geek such a useful fellow... but it's no accident he talks about it in the group. Joking is used to cover what he's doing. He's planting the seed in everyone's head that Deena could be eliminated. That she's not guaranteed to reach the final three. She can be taken NOW. Now the dupes come up with the plan to eliminate her... and voila... he agrees. He eliminates his biggest threat... and it wasn't even his idea! How perfect is that?

Now, why does he suddenly smell the coffee and wake up to the fact that Deena has been yanking his chain about it being him and her all the way? The totem mask challenge. Rob doesn't even make it to being the last guy. The 'harmless' Butch survives longer than he does... and who was it that took the first chop on Rob's rope? Deena.

You can pretend all you want that that doesn't mean a thing... but the reality was that it demonstrated a very likely scenario of how things would play out if Deena stayed in control. (Who was the second person eliminated in the mask challenge after Dave – who was voted out that night? Matt. Who was the person Deena said was the main target to be voted out? Matt. Who was the third person eliminated? Alex. Who was the alternate just in case Matt won immunity? Alex.

Several people wrote in to suggest that Deena had to go because it had become obvious to others that she was sneaky, a back-stabber. However, my take on this is: So what? She became exposed to those who would be voted off, so I don’t think it really mattered. I can’t say what Rob was thinking, so it may have been a factor in his decision, but if it was I would say he didn’t think it through all the way.

Finally, A.J. surmises that Rob simply wasn’t thinking:

He got himself worked up into believing he had a 5 person alliance: Rob, Deena, Alex, Heidi, and Jenna. He then believed the other 3 people – Matthew, Butch, and Christy – were outside of his alliance and should remain that way. He could've easily had the vote of Matthew and Butch, along with Deena and Christy, to take out Alex. However, he had already convinced himself that his alliance was his alliance. He didn't like Matthew and so he doesn't even consider Matthew as a potential ally – a fundamentally emotional problem. Because of this subconscious refusal to ally with the outcasts, he had to look at what would potentially keep his alliance in the best shape, which was to vote out Deena. Voting out Alex would have essentially destroyed Heidi and Jenna's loyalty and, thus, that alliance.

Overall, it was an awful move. You could write an article on how Rob blew the game. Rob should not discount anybody if he wants to be a true strategic genius. Remember a vote is a vote is a vote – regardless of a person's emotional state. Matthew was eating out of the palm of his hand and was a perfect alliance mate. He was easy to manipulate and would have done anything Rob asked. A new alliance of Rob/Deena/Matthew/Butch/Christy would have actually been *perfect* for Rob. He would have had the game in the palm of his hands.

We’ll see how it turns out in the next few weeks, but I have a prediction – he might make the final four, but he will not make the final three. Had he stayed with Deena, I think he could have been in the final two.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent Survivor articles at the Survivor: The Amazon page and take a look at our sections on Joe Millionaire and The Osbournes. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check out SirLinksALot!