An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Exile Island, Episode 9: The Non-Moving Idol

Fellow St. Louis geeks should be sure to check out the ShowMe Con 4 at the Airport Hilton this weekend. Peter David and Noel Niell are the guests! Click on the link for all the info.

I’m almost upset that we didn’t see a replay of the best moment of the season – Shane dropping his pants and Cirie laughing. That roaring noise you heard from out west was Bob Dawg almost popping a blood vessel from laughing so hard.

Sally’s Final Words: She loved every minute of the experience and feels proud of how far she came. She’s a little disappointed, of course, but can’t wait to be part of the jury and decide who will win. It feels great being on her own in a beautiful country amongst a bunch of strangers having to fight to survive. She did everything she could, no regrets.

She’s not disappointed that Terry didn’t give her the idol. It would have been foolish of him considering how the game was going. He’s fighting hard, with an uphill battle ahead of him. She’s disappointed she can’t be his wingwoman. He needs the idol, the longer he hangs on to it, the better for him. It was wise for him to keep it.

She made it on Survivor, which has been a goal of hers for five years. She walks away knowing how important people are in her life. She was surprised at how strong she was. She learned a lot about herself, that she was stronger in certain areas that she thought she was. She knew it was a game of alliances, and she knew that just because she was good with people it didn’t mean she would win. The little things in life that seem so challenging seem so trivial out there.

Thank you to those who were real with her, and she’ll be really interested to see what happens when Casaya falls apart. She wishes she were there to see it. She wishes Terry and Cirie a lot of luck, and she’s not sure about the rest of them yet.

Sally, the Day After: Her Survivor experience was everything she could have imagined and so much more. The only thing she would have changed is still being there. She loves feeling challenged in every way. Getting to the bare bones of who you are and to say she made it to the final eight is overwhelming. She was so thankful she made it 28 days, she doesn’t think she took a moment for granted. She loved it.

Terry has dominated physically but she doesn’t think he has approached situations socially as he should have. She says this haltingly, like she’s trying to put it nicely. If she wasn’t on his team, she probably wouldn’t like him. He’s the guy you want on your team but don’t want to play against. He’s actually a really humble winner, and a terrible loser. He’s pouty, and makes you feel bad if you win something, like he’s not used to losing. He couldn’t even be happy for her when she won a reward challenge.

She respects Cirie as a woman, this experience has been harder for her because she’s never been outdoors. Competition wise, aside from the puzzle challenge that she and Bruce won (over her and Dan, which she doesn’t mention), she hasn’t done anything. She sat out every one she could before the merge. It’s hard for her, she’s not a strong swimmer and there she is competing while Cirie eats cheeseburgers. She can relate to Cirie on a personal level, but not on a game level.

Whoever the jury is will pull from what they can relate to. If Terry and Cirie were the last two, she could relate to Cirie, coming in here and struggling and making her way into the alliance. Then there’s Terry, who socially can “kind of suck” sometimes, but he wins competitions. Courtney is playing a good mental game. She’s an actress and it’s almost humorous. She wasn’t nice to Sally until she made the jury. She can respect that she’s playing the game.

She has a really hard time giving the million to Danielle. She’s kind of the princess of the group, who hasn’t really done much to earn her way. Shane is playing a good mental game. Aras is either a really good player or a really frustrated player, because he acts like he doesn’t really care. It drives her batty, because if he’s still in the game it’s something he needs to care about. She wouldn’t give a million dollars to someone who thinks the universe is in control.

She looks at Shane and Courtney and even though it’s frustrating that they’re beating you, they’re playing the game. Shane makes statements that make his tribe terrified to make a move. I think “terrified” in general should cover it. He’s the guy who, if you make a move against him, he’s going to make your life miserable. It’s going to be really interesting.

Loved Ones: Before the reward challenge, Jeff plays snippets of the loved ones videos. It was a surprise to me that Sally’s parents appeared in her video, but as she said in her interview with RNO, she was as surprised as anyone. Hopefully they’ll get their heads out of their asses and realize how stupid they’re being to cut off their daughter JUST because she got a divorce?

Get Hooked: One of the better reward challenges in what has proven to be a lackluster season for challenges, especially after the last two. It was not only creative, but difficult and required teamwork the likes of which we don’t see in most challenges.

Reaping Their Reward: Terry, Courtney, Sally, and Bruce watch the videos of their loved ones. And by the way, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a reward? Does Big Brother know about this?

Sally hears from her parents, which floors her, and her boyfriend, who dances around in a speedo. Well, I guess that quells those “Sally’s parents won’t speak to her because she divorced her husband for another woman” rumors. Bruce watches her daughter and wife and says after going through all the hardships, seeing the tape made him know he could win.

Courtney sees her parents, and it’s like the SNL skit where the family keeps telling the soldier how proud they are in a monotone. She says they’re “a little more conservative” than she is, which seems like the understatement of the season.

Terry’s wife, kids, and dog (during the episode, my fiance’s daughter asked why everyone had a dog. Sure seemed that way) are next. His wife tells him that when he gets home, they’re going to have “a big juicy steak and {pause} lots of other sweet things that you love.” Whoah, mama! Terry says it was hard to hold back the tears.

Sally says that the whole time, she forgot they were playing the game. Bruce pours a milk toast to their battle.

Usually, I like these episodes because it gives us a little more insight into the players. This season was a little disappointing, I thought. I always feel a little sorry for the ones who don’t have anyone to send a tape but a brother or friend. I shouldn’t, but I do, because I know I’ve been in that situation in my life, and I think I’d be embarrassed.

I also want to see a female Survivor’s video say something like “Mom, you need to come home quick” and the video pan over to show the house as an absolute disaster.