Survivor: Exile Island - Have They Eliminated the Negativity?

Back in the Outback, the viewers weren’t the only ones glad when Jerri was finally gone. Apparently she was so obnoxious her own tribe mates turned on her before they had to. But her ouster necessitated a target for the island’s negative energy, and as Keith said, “Who thought it’d be me?”

Similarly, Shane, one of the moodiest, cantankerousest (to coin a word), obnoxiousest (to coin another word) people to play the game is finally gone, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the final four will live in peace and harmony.

In fact, it may even get uglier from here on out, and I’m not even thinking about final tribal council. The four left are Danielle, Aras, Cirie (who aligned together for the last two votes), and Terry, who like a certain battery company’s bunny, keeps going and going and, well, you get the picture. Terry is guaranteed a spot in the final three due to the yet-to-be-used immunity idol, so the three will have to turn on one of their own.

Judging by the previews, Danielle decides to align with Terry, and that may not be a bad idea. After all, at the last couple tribal councils Shane thought she was going, and this time, he may be right. Let’s look at the possible scenarios, and see what negativity might come forth.

First, suppose Terry wins immunity again? Obviously, it’s not out of the question. Maybe Danielle is employing an “If you can’t beat him, join him” strategy. Most likely, she and Terry would target Aras, while Aras and Cirie would target Danielle, resulting in a potential “purple rock of death” scenario, which I’ve hated ever since it was used in Marquesas.

Of course, there might just be an undercurrent of negativity in this two-person alliance, considering Terry’s irritation with her (albeit justified) for turning on him a couple of votes back, and her subsequent irritation with him for seeing that she got nary a hug from her mother. Someone once said that politics makes for strange bedfellows, and apparently, so does Survivor.

In the unlikely event Terry does not win final four immunity, where does that leave the other three? Does the knowledge that Terry has the hidden idol cause them to bypass the formality of voting for him, and turn on each other? Now THAT should be fun to watch.

If Danielle wins immunity, that leaves Cirie and Aras as the ones vulnerable, and they’ll need Terry’s help. Of course, Aras had it out with him this last time, and apparently Cirie does in the upcoming episode, so this should all be very interesting. If either Aras or Cirie win, Danielle will most likely be the target, so Danielle may indeed be doing the right thing by aligning with Terry.

Okay, let’s take a look at Shane. Is anyone else as glad to see him gone as I am? No, he wasn’t necessarily so obnoxious in his last episode, but now I won’t have to worry about him winning a million dollars.

But he did have his moments. Did anyone find it ironic that he said it was nice not to have Courtney running her mouth? This from a person who ranted and raved about a stump a few weeks back, pouted when he didn’t get his way in a previous reward challenge, and has at times picked fights with people in his own alliance? Courtney may have been annoying, but at least she wasn’t nearly as confrontation as Shane.

Then there was his poor sportsmanship when Terry won yet another immunity challenge. Apparently not taking too kindly to the fighter pilot’s whooping and hollering, Shane told him to shut up. Like Shane wouldn’t have been doing the exact same thing if he’d won? Furthermore, if Shane tells anybody to “shut up,” it should probably be himself.

He also said her ouster “couldn’t have happened to a loopier broad,” but he had a couple of loopy moments in the last episode: One was in the immunity challenge, when he realized he’d been pouring water down the wrong hole. The other was in tribal council, when he said he was being carried because everyone thought they could beat him. Oh, he got carried all right, straight out of the game. Even if it’s true, and everyone knows it, what was the point in saying it out there in tribal council? Did he feel safe enough that he could say anything and get away with it? Talk about running your mouth…

Ironically, he and Courtney have one thing in common: They were both ousted due to being threats to make the final two. Of course, now that two of the game’s more obnoxious players are now in jury duty, as stated before, the game’s negativity needs a new target.

That may just be Terry, and not because of his string of immunity wins, or possession of the immunity idol. While he can’t miss the final three now, he might have trouble in final tribal council, should he make it that far.

My friend Rachel, the same one who said early on that Terry would win every immunity challenge, now says he’ll continue to do so, but won’t win in final tribal council no matter who he goes up against.

I’ve come to agree with her, but not because the jury is predominantly ex-Casayas. Terry didn’t do himself favors in the latest episode, nor apparently, in the one coming up.

I can’t say I blame him for going all out to win the reward challenge, and I won’t even fault him for banishing Danielle to Exile Island, because somebody had to go. But what was he hoping to accomplish by discussing the “allocation of love” with Aras? Whether or not Terry’s right about a married couple’s relationship being more important than a mother/son is beside the point: He never should’ve brought it up. Instead, he managed to get on Aras’ bad side. He thinks he saw a side of Aras he can exploit, but that side might be more inclined to vote against him in final tribal council.

Furthermore, if Terry thought the married bond was more important than the parental one, why did he choose Shane to go on the reward instead of Cirie and her hubby? If he’d switched their places, Boston would’ve had to go back to the island, but he and Shane still would’ve been able to spend time together, while Cirie would’ve gotten to spend time with her spouse in the same setting Terry spent time with his wife Tricia. I can’t help but wonder if this was going through Cirie’s mind when Terry and Aras were having their little tiff.

This isn’t about Shane, and isn’t meant to imply he didn’t deserve to see his son. The point is, if Terry really wanted the others to buy his explanation, why didn’t he follow the same logic with Cirie and her hubby as he did with his wife and himself?

Apparently, the stench of nicotine detox has finally departed the island, but the odor of contention and strife lingers, judging by the previews. See you Thursday!

Ken can be reached with any comments, criticisms, or money orders at YourNextOfKen@aol.com .

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