Survivor: Pearl Islands, Episode 10 – Questions, a Few Answers, and a Look at You Know Who

Okay, let's get to the point: What reason is there to keep watching Survivor, and is there anyone else worth rooting for? In case anyone needs proof that the show is indeed unscripted, they need look no further than Thursday night's episode. After all, if this were scripted, the producers wouldn't set someone up to be far more colorful and interesting than the rest of the cast combined, only to write that person out of the series midway through its run. From this point on, the show is like I Love Lucy, without Lucy, The Flintstones without Fred, 8 Simple Rules… without – uh, never mind.

But what's done is done, unless Rupe, Andrew, Shawn and Ryan O. all get a chance to come back. So who deserves to win, who might actually win, and who's worth rooting for?

Let's start with the big man's two allies, Sandra and Christa. For reasons we haven't seen, Christa rubs certain people the wrong way, and it appears as if she doesn't raise her stock in the next episode. Plus, being an ally of Rupert may now prove to be her undoing.

Her partner in crime, Sandra is one of two people left in the game with nary a vote (Tijuana being the other). But like Christa, the fact that she was one of Rupert's allies may come back to haunt her, and she certainly didn't help her cause during tribal council when she singled out Jon as being lazy. Yes, Jeff Probst set her up by asking if anyone wasn't pulling their weight, but she could've easily said, "No, everyone is doing their share and pitching in," even if it was completely false.

Then there's Burton, one of the two Outcasts to re-enter the game. Just as Rupert, Sandra, and Christa telegraphed their intentions, Burton was a little too obvious with his own, first going back on his word to Rupert after winning the reward challenge, then targeting the big man during the immunity challenge. He might have a hard time in the final two, simply because jurors may resent his coming back into the game after getting booted, unless he goes against Lillian, the other outcast, or even Jon.

Speaking of Jon, he could quite possibly be the most obnoxious member of this year's cast, and maybe of all time. It's hard to believe he would have a chance against anyone but Burton or Lillian, and maybe not even them. Yes, he keeps his sneakiness under wraps, but his cockiness is something he's been unable to hide.

What about Lillian? She has come back into the game with a vengeance, literally. She still has the work ethic she did before, but also has a bit of an attitude to go with it. Like Burton, however, she may face resentment over getting back into the game after being voted out. She may well make the final two, because no one sees her as a challenge threat, but pulling off a win is a bit iffy.

Darrah has been on the chopping block before and received a couple of votes last time. However, she knew she probably wouldn't be going, although she did an excellent job in tribal council of acting like she might be gone. She may have gone from next on the chopping block to being in the best position in the game. My money says she beats anyone left except possibly Tijuana, and then it could go either way.

Finally, there's Tijuana. As mentioned previously, she has no previous votes against her. Either she's flown under the radar almost the entire game, or the producers simply haven't shown us much of her. She carries no baggage from being associated with now-departed allies, and is probably not seen as a challenge threat. She may win against just about anyone left, including Darrah. Yes, she's been singled out as lazy, but for the most part she has kept her mouth shut.

So now, we're left with two women who may be next on the chopping block, an obnoxious pro wrestling fan, two people who were booted once already, and two people singled out as being lazy. I wonder if the producers are dreading the next few weeks as much as I am. The challenge for the viewers will be simply staying awake.

Now that Rupe is history, what will the remaining seven do about food? Yes, Burton caught a stingray, but does he catch enough to feed all of them? Has anyone else left caught so much as one fish the entire time? The others may soon decide that while the decision to boot Rupert was sound strategically, their stomachs may tell them otherwise.

Since his game is done, we can now ask question: Has anyone in the history of Survivor been so memorable? You may have liked him, you may have hated him, but it's hard to imagine any one individual in the show's seven editions standing out more. It all started with his "steal the shoes" escapade in the show's opening, and continued with his prowess in the team challenges, including his outlasting Osten in a test of strength. And when Morgan had a chance to have a Drake as a guest for a few days, who else COULD they have chosen? Let's not forget his screaming at Jon after receiving tribal council votes. Regardless of your opinion of the teen mentor, he provided the series with some of its most memorable moments.