Yeah, I was torn on Sherri's decision too - Erik clearly didn't need to flip and would be doing a disservice to himself by doing so, but she could move from 6th to 5th and then hope that Malcolm/Erik split off from Reynold/Eddie at that point (which I could totally see Malcolm being smart off to pull off).

I mostly agree, but it still seems a bit too early to be sure the order on the top 5 (I'd put Dawn in a clear 6th), since we don't know who is going to turn on who yet.

I disagree - I don't think there's anyway Malcolm could've avoided playing both idols without taking a HUGE risk. It was all a dog-and-pony show to create confusion to see if the main alliance fucked up and revealed their weak link publicly. As soon as it became clear that either a) the voting would be confused or b)…

I don't know if he overplayed it. No matter what happened, they were stuck playing both idols even if it may have momentarily appeared otherwise. Even if he could reasonably guess who may flip their vote, he would have zero idea how the actual vote split was going to be carried out and he couldn't plan for anything…

@JudgeReinhold:disqus Funny you mention that because it's my fascination with game theory that brought me to Survivor (albeit not until 2011 or so…a bit late). There have been a bunch of papers on the connection through the years and is why Survivor is the only reality show I'd ever be interested in going on.

Depressingly I learned this first-hand (thank you, thank you) in both basic training and overseas.

@costume:disqus

I found that comment from Sherri irksome (and borderline racist? Or am I projecting subtext here?) - Shamar's not a dummy and I wouldn't classify him as immature either. He's clearly a guy with some major issues controlling his emotions and in finding ways to express himself productively.

You have the Army masturbation policy all wrong - proper protocol is to take the dirty magazine (if you're so lucky as to have one around) to the latrine area and handle your business while "shitting." No way the cameras or fellow tribe members catch you then.

He said both actually (twice my age and then twice my height). So, 100-year-old, 12-foot tall guys. Which…awesome. Philip is my favorite type of crazy.

I wasn't watching at that point of Survivor, but was Gervase bad at challenges? Shamar has performed well in all three challenges and seems to have a brain - he just has an sulky demeanor and is sensitive. And In his defense, every time he's proposed something it's been quickly disregarded. I can imagine that's…

I'm just going to post this here because I don't quite rightly know where to put it, but I think Shamar is getting a bad rap at this point.

Nope, the guy who played D'Angelo Barksdale was in a John Waters movie in the early-to-mid 90s.

Agreed. Beat = fine. Rapping = buttwater.

@avclub-a1967e6de4ca99fb2635d94b99453928:disqus Got it - that makes more sense and avoids even the possibility of someone throwing it.

@avclub-a1967e6de4ca99fb2635d94b99453928:disqus Got it - that makes more sense and avoids even the possibility of someone throwing it.

Thanks for the clarification on the process…and the thought of Skupin falling into the fire at that point is hilarious (in a "I don't know him as a real person, so I don't want to think about the actual physical injury" sort of way).

Thanks for the clarification on the process…and the thought of Skupin falling into the fire at that point is hilarious (in a "I don't know him as a real person, so I don't want to think about the actual physical injury" sort of way).

Curious - why do you think Denise would be voted out at the Final 4 if Malcolm wins immunity? I've been thinking about this vote and it's a true dilemma on all sides - betrayal by your closest ally at that point likely costs you a critical jury vote in a tight race.

Curious - why do you think Denise would be voted out at the Final 4 if Malcolm wins immunity? I've been thinking about this vote and it's a true dilemma on all sides - betrayal by your closest ally at that point likely costs you a critical jury vote in a tight race.