Episode 05 - Continued Improvement

Wow - what a great episode last night! Not only was it greatly entertaining, it also proved an improvement in Rafe's chances for the million dollars - which is what this blog is all about.

Survivor Insight for the week: The problem of pride
We sometimes hear and think about "pride" in a religious context and how we should aim to have less of it. But let us not forget that pride can also have devastating effects as a contestant on Survivor. Case in point - Jamie and his blowout stupid move on last night's reward challenge. "Survivors ready - go!" Brandon rushes over and proceeds to hack at the rope, splitting it in about 4 seconds, after which Jeff says, "Yaxha done with first rope!" So what does Jamie do? Does he take Brandon's lead and hack through the rope too? NO! He stubbornly sticks to his own style of sawing the rope and proceeds to affect the biggest challenge loss in the history of Survivor.

Nakum
Although Stephanie complains about her "sucky" tribe ad nauseum, a loss of the immunity challenge wouldn't have been bad for Rafe's position in the tribe. Although I don't get the feeling that Rafe and Stephanie are really tightening their secondary alliance with Jamie and Lydia - a crucial step at this point in the game to prevent mutiny instigated by Margaret and Cindy. I just love Cindy - I certainly hope she remains in the game!

Yaxha
Wow - big shocker at the end of the vote! Blake must have been pretty annoying to have 2 solid ex-tribemates voting for him. So how could this have happened so soon after alliances were formed with BJ & Brandon? Well, Bobby John was successfully turned (I don't consider Danni to have been "turned" since she didn't like Blake anyway). How was BJ turned? In a word - Gary. Gary is assuming control of the new Yaxha tribe quite nicely. It seems as if he has Amy & BJ firmly on his side (Brian is more of a wild card as is Dannie since she knows his true identity). Brandon - pull your head out dude, this is Survivor! I am starting to think that Gary & Amy will begin losing the relationship ties that they had with Steph & Rafe though - especially with the ultra-competitive nature of these challenges. This may not bode well for Rafe after the merge if Nakum keeps losing people.

Final thoughts on this episode
I think Rafe's chances to win improved with this episode. Nakum remains strong. Gary & Amy are not only still alive on Yaxha but strong emergent leaders.

Rafe's current odds for the win - 65%