Survivor Exile Island, Episode 11 Missing Intelligence Award: Fear of Leaves Pulls Through

I must just start this off with a major “DAMMMMNNNNN!” of awe and respect for Cirie’s game play this episode. That was a major coup she pulled off, in my book, and more power to her. The great thing is, she did it all without Aras realizing he was being played. It even looks like they’ll manage to soothe Shane next week. I cannot begin to express how thrilled I was to actually see such complex maneuvering work out! I mean, she had Shane thinking that Aras and Cirie were voting Danielle off with him. She had Terry thinking that she and Danielle were going to vote with him and Courtney and oust Aras. And instead, she divided the votes of the other tribe members and pulled off a snazzy majority to ditch the bimbo. Just. Wow.

So obviously, Cirie won’t be getting the MIA this week. That was just impressive. Now, she might have picked a better target, like the unstable Shane, or stayed with Terry to get rid of Aras, thus giving Terry a false sense of alliance security. Then toss Shane. And then Cirie is sitting pretty with Terry, Danielle, and Courtney, all of whom make good final two fodder. I think she correctly assumed, though, that this would give her fourth place. Being with good fodder makes little difference if you’re not able to get to the final two itself. Oh, and AWESOME on the fish catching. I was so proud of her! I giggled right along with her, and when I giggle, the macaws giggle. So the jungle that is my home salutes Cirie.

Courtney finally did something that I thought made sense: she aligned with Terry. While she had some hidden agreement with Shane, I’m not so sure she could trust that. Shane’s propensity to swear on his son’s life and psychotically hold to it yields a certain distrust if he doesn’t do said swearing with you. Thus, Courtney wanted to find someone for a final two alliance she could beat. Or that she thought she could, anyway. I don’t think she could beat even Terry in the final two, and I’m quite honestly glad I don’t have to worry about it! However, no MIA for Courtney this week. She tried. I will say she sort of signed her own death knell by getting pissy with Danielle over the order of the final three. You, Miss Courtney, are WAY too sensitive, and in such a bizarre way. However, I don’t think Danielle would have stuck with it anyway, so you get a bye.

Shane continues to be his bizarre self. His corncob walk gets more pronounced. [Associate Editor's Note: I'd give him a pass on that. His particular condition is not fun.] He truly makes an excellent poster child for anti-smoking, lower doses of caffeine, moderation of vices. The man looks like Hunter S. Thompson makes me feel whenever I read the frenetic accounts of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Shane, you got a big dose of reality this week. Last week’s game nailed you as the person who thinks they are running the show, but really aren’t. This week’s game proved it. If you don’t see that, then you’ll get this award soon.

Terry, good job on the strategizing. You got a lucky draw for teams at the reward challenge. Danielle and Courtney are both weak-willed, easily convinced people, so they were your ideal two to get on your side. You also finally approached in a way that didn’t make me want to smack some sense into you. You are bargaining from a position of weakness and desperation, and you are bargaining with idiots who think they have more power than they do. You found a way to boost egos, place some doubts, and then offer solutions. This is much better than your approach to Cirie a few weeks back. Oh, and nice win on the car. I’d love to see you be the one to break the car curse!

Aras, you didn’t do too much wrong. Good job conserving your energy on Exile Island. Not much else to do there now, you’re right. Also, going along with Cirie’s plan was nice. However, she’s setting herself up nicely for a final two and a win. You may not think she can beat you, so you’ll take her if given the opportunity. However, I wouldn’t discount her. She’s done some amazing playing and might just kick your VERY flexible butt and shock you. Watch out! I’d almost suggest aligning with Terry in an Ego Alliance and battling it out in final two.

Danielle, you were right to question Terry’s motives and whether or not he would take you to final two. However, you should know by now his word is good. When he said first and second place on the challenge go to final two, he meant it. Unlike me, Terry doesn’t seem capable of lying. Cirie totally read Danielle and realized she was being swayed by Terry. She quickly did some lying of her own and convinced Danielle that Terry was lying. This shows Danielle’s gullibility and lack of people-reading skills. Danielle keeps being wishy-washy, a dangerous thing in Survivor, and Cirie makes note of it.

Finally, though, Danielle chose the Aras/Cirie alliance and voted Courtney out. It is my opinion that this is a huge mistake. With Terry and Courtney, she is part of a three-person alliance that can pick off Cirie and Shane, neither of whom seem to win immunities. Then she gets to battle it out for the final two under the ground rules she and Terry agreed on. Now, however, she has Terry possibly gunning for her as she betrayed him. She also has Aras and Cirie, who might stick with Shane and toss her next, if Terry has immunity. Danielle, you might make good final two fodder, but look what happened to the last great fodder! Cirie got rid of them, knowing she can’t win an immunity to guarantee final two, and knowing that Aras and Shane probably wouldn’t take her if Danielle was around. I think Cirie believes Aras and Shane would each take her if they were the final three. Thus, she’s probably going to stick with them, and Danielle, you’re probably the next to go.

For that, Danielle, this Missing Intelligence Award is for you. You are too visibly wishy-washy and incapable of making up your own mind. You let everyone else do your thinking, and that can only hurt you in the long run. Perk up and smell the coffee. You’ll probably be drinking some soon, because it just might be game over.

And there we have it. When intelligence goes missing, I’ll be there! As always, send me suggestions!

Heathyr Fields Ford resides in central Washington with a terribly patient boyfriend. An aspiring writer, she loves fan mail and suggestions for each week’s MIA, so email her at heathyranne@hotmail.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 recaps and other info on this show at the Survivor: Exile Island page, and take a look at our Amazing Race 8 page and our The Apprentice page. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about Survivor, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: Survivor Panama - Exile Island and Survivor Fever!