Survivor: Exile Island – Who Will Go in Episode 10?

The previews on television and the CBS website have revealed three things. First, we learn that a medical emergency will be sending one Survivor off the island for treatment. It’s unclear whether this will result in a permanent removal from the competition, but I will return to that point in a moment. Second, we discover that we've reached the political positioning reward challenge where alliances show their boot order (and Shane seems to be put out by the whole thing). Finally, we learn that Terry might make a significant move with his immunity idol.

Let's approach these revelations in reverse order. This is the week where Terry must make his idol known to all. He's already squandered his opportunity to use it as a numbers-altering tool. So the most effective use for it would be as a deterrent. Now obviously the Casayans have the numbers to counteract this method (simply vote three for Terry and two for the outcast Casayan, whose vote will be largely inconsequential). But as I've often mentioned, I think that's giving Casaya too much credit. I don't think they'll think things through. They'll be too scared that everyone will vote Terry and allow his single vote to determine the outcome of the vote. Instead they'll target the least desirable member of their own group.

This leads directly into the second revelation. As mentioned before, we likely see the political positioning game in this week's Survivor, and Shane is clearly upset. What? Shane upset? Turn on the sarcasm machine my friends, because it's time for me to feign shock and amazement that somebody as level-headed and socially upright as Shane Powers might become upset when it's revealed that he's on the outside of his alliance. Shane's such a lovable guy. I can't imagine why his tribe would want to get rid of him anyway. And those sudden outbursts of inanity, they're just so adorable! Okay, please turn off the machine now. That's more than enough. Even in a sarcastic tone it was difficult to say all that. I think I'm going to be sick... Where's a My Therapy Buddy when you need one?

So what will be the ultimate result of all this? I think this will solidify Shane as the sixth member of his alliance. And since Terry's got immunity, Shane is clearly the next to be targeted by his tribe. He may try to shake things up (possibly by approaching Terry, Bruce, and Aras with a boys’ club and immunity threat alliance), but ultimately it won't come to much. Terry's firmly set in his “win all immunities” strategy, and Aras and Bruce probably don't feel threatened enough yet to risk losing their vote buffer in Shane.

The final revelation this week, however, is the most intriguing. Several weeks ago we saw footage showing one of the Survivors being taken off the island by boat due to a medical emergency. That was a tease that never came to pass (instead we just got Nick cutting Bruce's lip with a machete). However, it seems that the true medical emergency is finally upon us. And ultimately the question is, “Who is it?” But another important question is, “Will he or she leave permanently?”

Not since Michael Skupin's unfortunate close encounter with a campfire in Season Two have we seen a player eliminated from the game due to medical reasons (I don't count Palau's “Ooo-I-Twisted-My-Ankle” Jeff; he was just being a wuss and left voluntarily). However, based on the level of response shown (a transport off the island with medics in the middle of the night), my guess is that we've returned to that level of seriousness. I believe the injured player will be permanently removed from the game this week.

Who will that player be? There I'm not certain. There hasn't really been anything in the previews to give us a hint one way or another. So my guess will be based on foreshadowing. I think that the reason CBS showed us the footage for this episode several weeks ago when Bruce cut his lip is because they were foreshadowing a much more serious injury for him this week. I know that's pretty weak reasoning. But when all you've got to work with is a big pile of nothin', you've gotta learn to use your imagination.

The daughter prediction this week begins with a little girl who I found sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor surrounded by Tupperware. Building a plastic drum-set, are we Lucy? At any rate, it took a while to distract her from the wonders of plastic containers, but the allure of the Magical Mystery Survivor Blankie eventually did the trick. The picking went quickly enough again this week. Shortly after dropping the names from the Blankie, my daughter brought me Danielle's name for the second week in a row. Still doesn't seem like a very good pick. Perhaps that's just her way of telling me she'd rather be called Danielle. Hmmm... I'll try it for a week. Let you know how it goes.

Quick review. Shane should go home, whether Terry wins immunity or not. But that will change when Bruce has a medical emergency (let's use our imaginations and say it's due to an errant Courtney-wielded fireball) and is permanently removed from the island. My daughter, however, is obsessed with the name Danielle and thinks this is her week to go.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Exile Island Episode 9 articles:

Wesley is a writer and English teacher from Tulsa, OK. He's convinced Michael Skupin would've trounced Colby in individual immunity if he'd avoided the fire and made the merge. He can be reached with questions, comments, or snide remarks at Musnud@Gmail.com.

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