Survivor: The Amazon, Episode 8 MVP: Try, Try Again

Comment-wise, I really don't have anything to say that much about what went on this week. I mean, we had our normal snootiness of Jenna and Heidi, Matt seems to be getting thinner by the minute, and Rob schemed and plotted like a pro. Nothing new to all of this. One thing that may shock you would be the person that I picked as the MVP. Usually that person walks away with immunity. However, not this time. Let's take a look and see who outshined the rest this week and still has a shred of dignity when it comes to the game of Survivor.

Actually, before I even get to the person that won the MVP, I'd like to take a look at an honorable mention. As usual, that goes to Rob. Once again, Rob knew exactly who to talk to, when to talk to them, and what to talk to them about. He was constantly making sure what page everyone was on and that Dave would be the next to go. I think Rob may be on a better track than I first thought. Although, I'm not sure if he wants Dave and Butch on the jury knowing that he led their ouster. Sure, they will be bitter towards Alex and Matt as well, and that is why he needs to make sure that one of those two are sitting next to him in the final two. He was the last man standing in the immunity challenge, so that must go for something. Deena looks highly upon him, or at least it seems. That is good because at this moment, Deena is in a position of power, although so is Rob. It is going to be fun to watch and see which one comes out on top because I think it is going to be a power struggle with Rob actually coming out ahead. Rob deserves the honorable mention again not because he lacked something, but I think one other person did a little better than him. That person, and the one that won the MVP this week, is Dave.

Now let's stop and think for a second. Sure, he was voted out this week, and I have never given the MVP to someone that was voted out that episode. However, I think Dave proved that he could play just as well as everyone else, and do it a bit more fairly as well. Dave had what it took to survive off the land, but what it basically came down to was that he believed Rob, Alex, and Matt would stay true to the original men. It wasn't exactly bad planning on the part of Dave; rather that he was dumb enough to believe that sneaky Rob would be okay with coming in 5th place, which is what I think they promised him. Even though Dave got the boot this week, he made all the right moves that he possibly could have in order to try and prolong it. After winning the immunity challenge, he took Deena along with him. Even though it may have been a fair way to choose between her and Alex, I think Dave wanted to take her anyway because he may know she is the leader of the women. He had some discussion with her to try and persuade her that Matt was the way to go, but apparently, when the vote came out, she was not hearing it. Trying to get close to Heidi was also a smart move. By fiddling with her emotions, it may have been possible to trick her into telling the other ladies that voting out Matt might have been the better decision. That didn't work either. When all else failed, Dave did the smart thing and eliminated Matt out of the immunity challenge ASAP. That was the smartest move he could have made. He knew that it was between the both of them as to who was going, so getting rid of the competition and making sure he still has a chance to win the vote was top priority. I give it up to Dave, even though it didn't work in the end.

Sometimes, when it comes to picking who will be the MVP, I find someone who didn't exactly have their best episode, but was still able to make all the right decisions. I think Dave falls into this category. Had his alliance come out on top, I think he would have won the game. I made this clear several times at the beginning of this season. Even Dave's last-second plea for survival at tribal council was a good move. It didn't work, but I think Dave did everything that he possibly could have in order to stick around for a few extra days. Face it, he had no alliance going for him, but he was still a physical threat. That is someone too dangerous to still have around. They did the right thing in tossing him, but I think he tried his best to prevent it, and utilized some smart game play.

Time is ticking for Rob. I'm not sure where this is going to go. He is either going to go very far in this game, or time may be running out. I'm not sure where the alliances are going to fall after Butch is gone. Probably Christy will be after him, and then the sh** will hit the fan.

So honorable mention this week goes to Rob again, as it has for the past several, and Dave is our MVP. I'm actually going to miss Dave. He was my favorite male this season. Now I have to look to Christy to take the whole thing. I hope she doesn't let me down. I'm taking a break for a few weeks to catch up on some stuff. Jeffrey Clinnard will be taking my place, and I'm sure he'll do a great job. Hope to be back soon.

Phil Kural is a junior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@astro.temple.edu.

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