Post by Brian SmithTonight's episode is titled "Operation: Italy." Interesting title. I
can't see why any of them would say that. Sounds like the RC is going to
involve surprise letters from home. We're also going to find out that
Caroline is Sue's daughter!
Great episode tonight. A crazy plan that actually worked!
The beginning of the episode confirmed that Kyle did call Sue and
Caroline “Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dumb.” Sue also said she was sick of
the “Kyle Show.” Did the edit make Kyle look better than he really was?
The mother/daughter segment at the start of the episode with Sue and
Caroline was great foreshadowing. I had to laugh at Sue telling Caroline
to wipe the dirt off her face.
There was also a very interesting scene at the start of the episode with
Teeny and Gen. Gen told her she made a mistake not making emotional
connections with the other players. She then pitched that they take out
Rachel saying that Rachel is basically playing a perfect game. Teeny
asked if that meant she would vote for Rachel over her to win the game.
When Gen implied she would, Teeny got pissed off. It was either a huge
miscalculation on Gen’s part or a brilliant psychological move.
Reward Challenge
Sam made up a ton of ground to edge Rachel for the win. The reward was a
trip to The Sanctuary for an Italian dinner and to spend the night.
There would also be letters from home. Sam got to choose two people to
go with him. He chose Andy first, which stunned Andy. I was stunned as
well. Sam explained that he had promised Andy he would take him and that
he keeps his word. He then said because the reward involved Italian that
he had to choose Gen. If Rachel had won the reward or if Sam hadn’t
chosen Andy to come along, this would have been a very average episode.
After Andy, Sam, and Gen left, Jeff asked the other four how they were
feeling. Teeny didn’t hold back. She blasted the hell out of Sam saying
he made a huge mistake not choosing her. She said they would be planning
Sam’s demise.
The Sanctuary
At The Sanctuary, Andy flipped once again, telling Sam and Gen that
Rachel has a Block a Vote advantage and that one of them would be the
Underdogs’ target. He then came up with an elaborate plan named
“Operation: Italy” that was designed to blindside Rachel. The plan was
to convince them that Gen has an idol, get them to split the vote, and
then the three of them would all vote for Rachel, sending her to jury.
Sam gave his expired idol to Gen, which along with some things she had,
she used to make a fake idol.
Back at Camp
To help sell the plan, Andy told each of the girls that he was sure Gen
found an idol at the reward and that they should split the vote. Teeny
wanted Sam to go bad and Rachel wasn’t convinced Gen has an idol. To
make things look more convincing, Gen went running into the jungle
pretending to look for an idol.
In another foreshadowing scene, Sue told Caroline if she thought she was
in trouble she would use her idol to protect her. Caroline’s name had
been thrown out as a potential target.
Before heading off to TC, Gen listed several reasons why this plan
wouldn’t work.
Tribal Council (Night 22)
TC was interesting. Teeny essentially said that there’s a set target
list and there isn’t much people can do to change it. Gen gave Jeff a
long answer on emotional connections and said she was swinging for the
fences tonight. She wanted to do more than stay in the game.
In a huge surprise, Operation: Italy with a backup plan worked
perfectly. Sadly, Caroline went home tonight with an edit that kind of
made her look dumb. I wanted to see Teeny taken out as she’s been
getting too cocky and too annoying lately. The vote was 3–2–2. Sue and
Teeny voted for Sam while Caroline and Rachel voted for Gen. Sue didn’t
show much emotion when her daughter got voted out. I’m questioning if
she would have used her HII on Caroline.
Next Episode
Next week is Part 1 of the two-part finale. Looks like Rachel and Gen
might go head-to-head in a Survivor shootout.
Andy’s stock went way up tonight. Fishbach is asking if Operation: Italy
was the best play of the New Era. I can’t think of anything better. It
was a brilliant plan. I am surprised that Andy keeps getting away with
flipping damn near every day. If he keeps making big moves, he’s got a
good shot at winning even if half the jury doesn’t respect him.
--
Brian