What bugs me is that, after all this buildup, Mike's arrival just feels like such a non-issue. He's just another guy in the group now. He simply showed up, like any other rando being introduced to the group would.

It just drives me nuts that they all pick on Phil, and then don't understand why he's upset about it. And then, suddenly, he's the bad guy for giving it right back. It's the "popular kids table" mentality. "Come on, we're just playin'!"

Eeny meeny miney…

Throw the teenagers overboard too. Jesus Christ.

Peeno Noir
Smoke a cigar
Revenge can be spec-tac-u-lar

I loved Lex, but when he got that one vote at tribal council, even though he wasn't the least bit at risk of going home, he flipped out and went on a witch hunt that bordered on terrifying in its levels of paranoia.

If I were on the show, they would have done one of those time lapses and the next shot would have shown me sweating like a pig, shaking like crazy, grimacing in pain, and struggling to hold it together. Then the graphic would have appeared onscreen:

What's interesting is that this could all easily backfire on Jason. In much the same way learning someone is rich spells doom for their game in the early seasons, learning someone is in need pretty much spells doom in these latter seasons. Had anyone known Val was pregnant last season, there's no way anyone lets…

Tai thinks all chickens are "friend chickens" like it's Gentle Farms.

Seriously! Those guys do realize they need these people to vote for them at the end if they want to win, right? With this behavior, even if Scot and Jason make it to the end, they're basically giving a million dollars to whomever they take with them.

Team Aubry might have delivered the most embarrassing group challenge performance in recent memory. I'm struggling to think of any tribe or grouping that's done worse.

My money is on there being a portrait in his attic getting older.

Knowing Probst, he probably took his time getting back.

And Micronesia was among the few seasons in which an all-female alliance was able to steamroll to the end. So extra relevance to tonight! Provided this alliance doesn't just implode in the next few days.

I really think Tai may have just gotten tripped up by Jeff's question, and it prompted him to go rogue. Honestly, if I'm at tribal, and Jeff asks a question about idols to one of my tribemates, I'd start wondering if that tribemate had an idol, because I'm pretty sure Jeff wouldn't be asking him that question if he…

Even if he's a lousy liar, he could make the argument that they need him if they ever hope to play the super idol, which just might be the only way for the men to retake control of the game.

Tai being mad at Jason for not telling everyone about the super idol is also kind of hypocritical, since he didn't tell anyone about the super idol except for Scot.

It's like when Andrea got blindsided in Caramoan.

Watching Nick's face go from glib amusement ("Haha, someone voted for me. How rich.") to abject horror ("OKAY GUYS, THIS SHIT ISN'T FUNNY ANYMORE") was brilliant. I've never felt inclined to immediately rewind and watch a blindside all over again, but that was outstanding television.

I think Survivor endures because it's essentially a sport now. People obsess about it like sports, go through withdrawal during the off-season, and have charts, stats and viewing parties out the wazoo. It's a game that can be watched and appreciated like any sporting event. It hardly even feels like a game show,…