Two theories I had while watching this:

The combination of doing a "who's playing who" and "is this real or hallucination" at the same time makes it fall apart as a thriller.  Eventually I decided that I couldn't trust what I was seeing and stopped trying to predict where it was going, which meant I was no longer invested in the film by the end.

But the point he was making is that Erik is really dumb.  Evidence from his last season supports this conclusion.

I'm really hoping they get Boston Rob in for the reunion so we get to see him turn down Phillip's surprise marriage proposal.

At least Malcolm knows that Erik isn't a reliable vote, so that's something.  And since we've never seen any discussion between them, there's no way of knowing why he thought Erik was with him in the first place.

I think they were giving her a lot of busywork just so she'd have a scene in each episode.  They probably should have dropped her entirely for the middle section of s2 (maybe as soon as she reached Qarth) and picked her back up near the end (skipping forward through all the political dithering).

Imagine if Andrea was chewing gum too… she wouldn't have even got the pliers.

Can the world please keep the few shows that are not set in the U.S.?

Teeth (and The Electric Mayhem).

"…she's another regeneration of River"

He was leaning on fan service way too hard in this episode.  "X is cool", the fez, the bowtie, jammy dodgers… and hammering "Doctor Who?" is getting annoying.

It's not so much obsession, but if you're going to try doing something in the "western" genre in Australia then Ned Kelly is the obvious historical figure to go with.  It's a rare case where having a big shootout at the end of the movie is historically accurate.  It just a shame that history also makes it really…

I can believe that - he may not be crazy enough to be a danger to others, but his overconfidence in his abilities makes him a danger to himself.  Phillip collapsing or even having a stroke during a challenge wouldn't surprise me.

I was wondering if he could see the cameraman zooming in out of the corner of his eye… keep it together, Cochran!

C for gameplay, A for comedy.

@avclub-f20e537f8b7f51267b03cdcdcce9bf24:disqus Yeah, I think it was more likely Corinne being the diplomatic one.  The contrast between her in-game "Phillip, you're being mean to me" and her confessional "I would kick his ass!!!" is a good example of her being able to keep it together and not act out what she's…

Corrine mentioned in this ep that "she" has the idol… with Malcolm.  She's still thinking she's got a special relationship with Malcolm and so she might be up for helping out the brolliance… especially if it involved throwing votes at Phillip instead.

Reynold back at work:

@avclub-09242a5045cda8c7f60b238ba86876a7:disqus Yes it was mean, but no editor would be able to justify cutting those lines.  They were undeniable gold… nasty, nasty gold.

Definitely hoping Cochran makes it to final 3 just so we aren't robbed of his commentary for the rest of the season.