Survivor: Exile Island – Advice for the Remaining 11

La Mina finally broke their losing streak and sent Casaya to Tribal Council. This meant Casaya tribal politics were tested for the first time since the Nutball Alliance formed, then decided the didn’t really like each other. However, it doesn’t really seem like any of them particularly like any of the others either, so it made for an interesting Tribal Council where votes were flung at four different people. Looks like the Nutball Alliance couldn’t even agree on a specific target, though they all seemed to decide it would be either Bruce or Bobby.

Bobby ended up getting the boot, though his name was only on three of the seven pieces of paper. If it’s any consolation to him, he joins an elite group of Survivors who were eliminated with less than half the vote total (like Gretchen from Survivor: Borneo). Even more interesting was the way the women controlled the vote, with Cirie, Courtney, and Danielle casting the votes against Bobby, while Bobby and Aras wrote down Bruce, Bruce wrote down Courtney, and Shane wrote down Aras.

The scattering of votes should provide even more drama at their camp, with Aras wondering who voted for him, though Courtney may figure out that Bruce, the guy she helped saved, voted against her. Honestly, the vote didn’t seem to make much sense. Some worried that Bobby would defect to the other tribe after the merge (something he told Bruce he was going to do, and in a post-show interview with RealityNewsOnline told us he definitely would have done), but splitting the vote up like that means that Bruce shouldn’t be feeling very secure, and could easily himself defect at the merge to go back with Dan and Terry. In short, it looks like the Nutball Alliance either had no agreement at all or agreed to just let the votes fall where they may instead of unifying. It was a bad idea.

Part of the problem with Casaya is that few of them have showed any consideration for each other throughout their entire time there. Examples include:

• Aras and Shane telling Cirie she was going home next
• Shane ranting about his thinking chair
• Bruce building a rock garden while everybody else was trying to get fire
• Bobby using the outhouse while its use was under debate
• Shane telling Danielle she was lazy
• Bobby taking the last bottle of wine and sharing it in the outhouse with Bruce
• Courtney doing yoga in Bruce’s rock garden instead of anywhere else on the beach
• Bruce and Bobby claiming the others took up all the room in the shelter

Cirie has been notably absent from the drama, getting involved only on the peripheral edges, like when she was asked point blank by Shane about Danielle’s work ethic. As Shane put it at Tribal Council, they were a “functional dysfunctional tribe.” He’s right, since while there is lots of drama at camp, they did put together a nice string of challenge wins. People don’t have to like each other to win challenges any more than they need to like each other to ally with each other.

While the producers must be going nuts trying to figure out just what parts of the drama at Casaya make the best footage, they are probably wishing some of them were over at La Mina. That tribe seems to all like each other and get along pretty well. Most of the footage of their camp life was centered around the digestive system shock the beans gave Nick and Austin. Even the insider footage mostly had Terry explaining how he hid the immunity idol by flattening it and keeping them in his cargo pants – the ones he sleeps in.

Both tribes should be looking at the merge and wondering about how the political fallout will happen once the two tribes become one. But each Survivor should be looking at their own game plan. What should they be doing? It’s advice for the remaining 11.

La Mina: You are a unified tribe, with everybody pretty much respecting each other. You apparently have a good camp life, and that’s a big plus, since with the divisions at Casaya so obvious, lots of people may come to you with a deal at the merge. Your biggest problem is food. You have some in the form of beans, but you need to ration it and have many small meals instead of a big one. Otherwise, it can play havoc with the digestive system, as a couple of you found out.

Terry: With your alliance and the hidden immunity idol in your possession, you are in a good position. Keep in tight with your tribe and see what opportunities come up after you eventually merge. Make sure the idol stays hidden and with you at all times, and stick to your game plan.

Dan: You are also in a fairly good position, as you have a strong alliance with the men in your tribe. However, if you lose immunity, I’m pretty sure Sally will try the same arguments she used to eliminate Ruth-Marie. You’ll need to point out that with a merge coming soon, it’s more important to have alliances than challenge skills.

Austin: You are in a comfortable spot right now, with a solid alliance and no enemies on the tribe. What you do need to do is be more careful with the beans. However, I think you probably figured that out after your experiences.

Nick: Like Austin, you probably learned your lesson when it came to the beans. In addition, like most of your tribe, you are in a pretty solid place in the game, and it’s unlikely you’ll be sent home next unless you are injured. Right now your game is running smoothly.