Survivor Heroes vs. Villains

[Risen]

This is shaping up to be a GREAT season so far, much thanks due to King Russel from the previous season, Survivor Samoa. It's a very good cast, and I usually don't think highly of reusing cast members in these types of seasons, but Russel really does keep things fresh to death. Russel is a relative rookie compared to some of these players who have been on multiple seasons already, and he's still outsmarting them like nobody's business! The show makes it look like the odds are stacked against him, which they are, but his amazing genius assures his rise to greatness. The fact that they haven't been able to watch his season is probably the only reason he has a chance, because they would immediately point him out as an uber threat otherwise. Even though they are learning, they're still far far behind his game. This was proven in tonight's glorious display at tribal council. He is the gift that keeps on giving.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Russell: He’s threatening Russell Hantz. When do you that, you go.
Rob: He’s not playing with the amateurs anymore. Playing with the big boys now.

Rob: I’m just telling you watch your back.
Russell: Same thing for you man, watch your back.

Russell: Boston Rob says it’s better to play with me than against me. Oh, really? I believe I’m gonna get him to eat those words.​

Dinner was served! It was a great episode last night!

 

[Lateralus]

Survivor sucks. They should make them really survive, not play some retarded games. Drop them from a plane into North Korea. If any make it out alive, they get the prize.

 

[PeaceBaby]

^ you sound like my dad ...

 

[INTP]

Survivor sucks. They should make them really survive, not play some retarded games. Drop them from a plane into North Korea. If any make it out alive, they get the prize.

this

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Russell: He’s threatening Russell Hantz. When do you that, you go.
Rob: He’s not playing with the amateurs anymore. Playing with the big boys now.

Rob: I’m just telling you watch your back.
Russell: Same thing for you man, watch your back.

Russell: Boston Rob says it’s better to play with me than against me. Oh, really? I believe I’m gonna get him to eat those words.​

Dinner was served! It was a great episode last night!

I have to admit that Russel is a good player, but he's not as good as he thinks he is. He can make some impressive moves while still having no idea why he can't win the million.

This Rob vs. Russel stuff they are doing on the show now is kind of irrelevant though, because I have serious doubts that either of them will win. In these all star seasons the winner tends to be some girl that you'd question why she's on the "all star" season to begin with. So I think the winner will be either Candace, Courtney or Danielle.

 

[Risen]

I have to admit that Russel is a good player, but he's not as good as he thinks he is. He can make some impressive moves while still having no idea why he can't win the million.

This Rob vs. Russel stuff they are doing on the show now is kind of irrelevant though, because I have serious doubts that either of them will win. In these all star seasons the winner tends to be some girl that you'd question why she's on the "all star" season to begin with. So I think the winner will be either Candace, Courtney or Danielle.

As you alluded to in your second paragraph, there is a reason why guys like Russel don't win in the end. Russel plays this social game the way it's supposed to be played, in its purest, unadulterated, unbridled form. He is playing the game survivor like none other, but he still can't get the gold. You see, the ones who win at the end are not the great players. The ones who win are the ones who allow the uncontrollable winds of fate to carry them there, without having bloodied their hands, battled, and trudged through their enemies in order to make it to the end. They sat idly and happened to be in the right place at the right time in the universe for them to make it, and they get picked for the million because they DIDN'T play. IMO, the whole method of choosing who wins the million and deemed sole survivor is BS.

 

[theplacesyoullgo]

Good player or not, the guy is a snore.

Breakdown of Russell screentime:
"I am the GREATEST Survivor player EVER!" 25%
"Hidden Immunity Idol..." 25%
"I'm RUSSELL HANTZ!" 25%
"I will become ALL powerful!" 24%
"It's the Houston Astros, baby!" 1%

 

[Risen]

Good player or not, the guy is a snore.

Breakdown of Russell screentime:
"I am the GREATEST Survivor player EVER!" 25%
"Hidden Immunity Idol..." 25%
"I'm RUSSELL HANTZ!" 25%
"I will become ALL powerful!" 24%
"It's the Houston Astros, baby!" 1%

You forgot, "I am King Russel!" That's the best one . Can't wait to see what he does tonight. Watching people like him succeed brings joy to my callous steely heart.

 

[Risen]

While I rather strongly disagreed with Russel's choice to deceive and throw out the stronger player (coach), it may work out in Russel's favor as always. Taking out Coach seemed dumb because Coach was a good competitor, and it would've shown the other players that Russel cared about something other than his individual progress by voting out Courtney and helping the whole team to win. The way the votes went, I can only imagine he outright deceived that one woman in his alliance (when he came back and said Courtney would be the smarter vote) while taking out the useful idiot coach, thereby really reducing his trust value and the number of people allied with him. It also showed that Hispanic woman can rather easily manipulate him, even though what she said was really true in Coach's mind. Where it may all work in Russel's favor is obviously the possibility (which he foresaw and planned for) that the heros will think he's on the outs, and throw their trust towards him. Now it appears he may even get an idol from him, and any negatives in tonight's move will be irreleveant. Depending how it goes, Russel could truly come to dominate in the merge.

Either way, I'm fully confident he'll come out on top. His strategic skills (and ego) are really showing themselves, beyond what even I'd come up with. He is a genius, and he is a lucky genius. The most powerful men in history are often the luckiest men around. It takes both good fortune AND skill to become the greatest. While people who are propelled forward by forces outside of their control don't deserve adoration for that, they are always good people to follow because they just happen to be in that position where the random forces in the universe are aligned in their favor the majority of the time.

 

[Spamtar]

I just checked this out on streaming video and its a rather entertaining game. I have watched it before (and in a sense lived it working with a small group of people in the back-country for an extended period and this is why I can appreciate it more than some as a interesting social experiment with the games for immunity/prizes similar to scientists mazes mice run through) and the most entertaining/animated/outwardly scheming characters usually don't win.

Subtly, flexibility and resilience are often the best traits. Parvati doesn't have the initial advantage of being underestimated but she nevertheless limits the detriment of her reputation by allowing someone else to catch the limelight and blame (i.e. King Russel).

Russel: ENTP
Parvati: estP
Coach: ESFJ
Boston Rob: ENTJ
JT: EsTP
Jeri: IStP
Danielle:IStj
Candice: InTj
Colby: ESTJ
Sandra: ISFJ
Rupert: ESFJ
Amanda: INtp

Parvati

 

[Risen]

Tonight's play was MAGNIFICENT! But I have to knock Parvati for concealing the idol from Russel, then deciding to play BOTH without telling him about her plan, AT ALL. This will bit them all in the ass, because of the lack of trust, and the loss of both idols. I also believe Russel could've formed a much more effective strategy if he had known about there being two idols on their side, and could've likely made it so that they would've only had to play ONE idol to vote out a hero. But alas, it was a fucking awesome move. Never seen anything like it! Parvati and Russel are truly the King and Queen of all Survivor.

Unfortunately, Russel probably hasn't explored his hero options well enough AT ALL. He seems to be placing all his bets on the villains gaining numbers and ousting the other tribe, and this may come from his previous experience in Samoa vs. reading the situation for what it is. He even came into tribal tonight saying he didn't have a plan B. His strategic ability seems to be slipping, and I think it's going to cost him. He's getting far too confident at this stage, and he should now realize that. He also needs to remove Sandra from his midst, because she is a snake with some lethal venom. He underestimates her because he doesn't know how dangerous she is. But I'm still pulling for the King to win.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

Tonight's play was MAGNIFICENT! But I have to knock Parvati for concealing the idol from Russel, then deciding to play BOTH without telling him about her plan, AT ALL. This will bit them all in the ass, because of the lack of trust, and the loss of both idols. I also believe Russel could've formed a much more effective strategy if he had known about there being two idols on their side, and could've likely made it so that they would've only had to play ONE idol to vote out a hero. But alas, it was a fucking awesome move. Never seen anything like it! Paravit and Russel are truly the King and Queen of all Survivor.

Unfortunately, Russel probably hasn't explored his hero options well enough AT ALL. He seems to be placing all his bets on the villains gaining numbers and ousting the other tribe, and this may come from his previous experience in Samoa vs. reading the situation for what it is. He even came into tribal tonight saying he didn't have a plan B. His strategic ability seems to be slipping, and I think it's going to cost him. He's getting far too confident at this stage, and he should now realize that. He also needs to remove Sandra from his midst, because she is a snake with some lethal venom. He underestimates her because he doesn't know how dangerous she is. But I'm still pulling for the King to win.

I couldn't have said ANYTHING any better.

It was insane, I was clapping the entire time

Definitely dumb move on Pavarti's part, she should've told russell.

 

[kelric]

I thought it was a good, gutsy move by Parvati. Note that it was *not* a good move for Russell (all the better, as I can't stand him). In one move, Parvati got rid of one of the "heroes", getting her alliance past the dangerous 5-5 tie point, probably won Jerri's allegiance and exposed Russell as a liar to the Heroes, where he otherwise might have very well had inroads with Colby, JT, and Candice. And she did so by making an unequivocally "bold" move -- something that many good women players often get accused (fairly or not) of *not* doing.

It was pretty clearly bad for Russell. Right now he doesn't have many options other than to stick with Parvati (and be seen as her lackey, no matter what he says) or play as a loner where nobody will trust him. I think he's pretty close to done -- even if he gets far sick, I don't see him able to get many votes in the final tribal council. He doesn't have the charisma to overcome getting played. Being a pompous, cocky asshole *might* be able to get him a few votes, maybe even a win, if he could prove to everyone that he played flawlessly. But getting played bigtime by Parvati while simultaneously being shown as a liar to a good number of the folks who'll be doing the voting? I don't think he has a shot to win -- either he goes to the jury soon or winds up as a token finalist, brought along to the end *because* he won't get many votes to win.

Parvati, on the other hand, is *very* likely to win if anyone lets her get that far. It's pretty much what all of the others have been afraid of since day one, which is of course her problem. Even those she isn't aligned with like her, and see her as a good player.

 

[figsfiggyfigs]

^ good point you make there Kelric! : D

 

[Risen]

Well, Russel aimed to get rid of JT from the get go, which is rather pointless, and would immediately put him on the Hero's prime enemy list. Russel did this, I suspect, because he's getting cocky and wants to poke JT's dumb ass in the eye for being a dumbass, and basically to provoke the Heros. Russel just came out of a stellar game last season, and he's on a roll that is also amassing quite a bit of self destructive arrogance. Hed've been much better off voting for the weakest link among the Heros tribe, someone they don't care much about. While they'd still be mad that he lied, it would've avoided the in your face betrayal of voting out JT, and might've left him with SOME leverage on their tribe, especially considering they'd just be pissed off at JT since he came up with the idea. The discord it'd create would leave an opening for Russel to stoke the flames and turn things in his favor. However, he was too arrogant to see into that (though I admit it may be easier to see as an observer watching it on tv). It might've also gave him leverage with the votes should he make it to the final 2.


Or, if he was using the strategy of taking out the stronger ones first (among the Heros), he really should've taken out Rupert. Again, the anger towards JT would've possibly worked towards Russel's advantage, so he probably should've left him in the tribe. He's actually a weaker player in that respect.

Also, he's putting himself with a group of ALL women, which is just asking for doom. He had them under control while the villains were still together, but it's nothing more than a ticking timebomb. It's much better to have a group of weaker males with you that outnumber the women, if you're a man who has an alliance. This was easily seen in the last season with the final 4 of Russel's tribe. Being with a group of women as the majority puts him in too much of a precarious position, because although they may tend not to be as much of a threat as strong males, they will be more strongly allied with other women, in most cases. ESPECIALLY when its Parvati. She merely uses men, and allies with women. Russel had better recognize all this and switch up his game quick, or he may very well be finished.

 

[Spamtar]

Russel is fun to watch and is crafty yet he is less the King and more of Parvoti's "monkey's paw".

Parvotis move was bold and risky which nevertheless is likely to favor her very well with the jury members (Whereas Russel seems to be simultaneously alienating the jury with his broad scope double dealingm, back stabbing and ostentatious mannerisms). The fact that Parvotis bold move somewhat alienated Russel is mostly irrelevant as Russel has burned most of his bridges and his best option is to cling to his alliance with Parvoti regardless if he is pissed off with her or no.

In other words Russel has been demoted/reframed from King to pawn.

 

[MBTI Enthusiast]

Yeah, this season is great! I don't particularly like Russell, but I find myself rooting for him because he always keeps things interesting. Still, I have to agree that he wouldn't be able to get enough jury votes to win. I thought he had a chance last season, but he only got 2/9 votes. This season, he's already pissed off many of his tribemates and jury members, so I think he has even less of a chance to win.

I don't understand why Parvarti even gave an idol to Sandra last episode... wasn't it obvious that Sandra was going to flip the first chance she got? I think it would have almost been to their advantage if Sandra got voted out since she is unpredictable and sneaky. Even though JT got voted out, if (when) Sandra flips, heroes will still have the numbers!

Next episode will be interesting. I hope that the villains' alliance isn't in shambles from Parvarti's secret-keeping, but time will tell.

 

[Risen]

Jesus that was a dicey vote tonight. ARGHHHHHH! Russel, you miscalculated! Can't blame him though, he did the best with the info available to him. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough. Fate/lady fortune has a strange way of working, and it may be that this works just fine for Russel. otherwise, this move will obviously create quite a bit of discord, since he used it on himself. If he had used it on Parv it would've been perfect for him though.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

I'm not really sure what Candice was thinking tonight, since she could have just let Russel burn his immunity idol whether she sided with him or not. If I were in her shoes I would have voted out Parvati. On the other hand she's allied with Parvati in the past, so maybe she figured she could work better with Parvati and get rid of the heroes' biggest threat, Amanda.