I should say, as a noted hater of challenge throwing, that from a strategic standpoint this one didn't bug me nearly as much as the ones engineered by Fairplay on Pearl Islands and Ozzy on Cook Islands, which seemingly had no strategic value whatsoever and took place just to get rid of people in their own tribe they didn't like. But I absolutely hated the way Jaime and Peih-Gee threw it. Okay, Jaime hiding the one puzzle piece behind the table was kinda funny. Her and Peih-Gee cracking up about it for the next 20 minutes was certainly not. Hello? Ever heard of subtlety? You think anyone is really going to align with you or trust you after a stunt like that? Speaking of trust, why wait until after the challenge to inform Erik that you threw it? If I were him, I would be pissed about that. (Of course, if I were him, I'd probably be more pissed that I was still a virgin, but whatever.) ''It's about winning the war, it's not about winning the battles,'' Peih-Gee said. It's a calculated risk. I get that. But show a little class, ladies...or else my wife will smack you!
Okay, we've covered that backwards and forwards. Anything else worth talking about before we go? Well, I will admit to being surprised to hear James express his fondness for lunch lady Denise, even going so far as to proclaim that ''if Denise was 10 years younger or I was older — whichever way — Denise would be in trouble.'' Sounds like someone's got a mullet fetish! Jaime proved she could be annoying even when not giggling like a schoolgirl by informing Erik about the hidden immunity idol. (What is it about that thing that turns everyone into a blabbermouth? Seriously, shut up already! Not a team game!) And then there was the tribal shake-up. I love that fact that Fei Long was smart enough to immediately realize that they would most likely have to send their two strongest tribemates away, yet Zhan Hu for some reason assumed that they wouldn't be raided. Kind of summed up the differences in the two tribes to that point right there.
The one thing lost in the big tribal shake-up and thrown challenge is the fact that my episode 1 pick to win it all, Todd, is still looking pretty good. Is it possible that I could go three straight seasons with picking a winner after watching only one episode or less? Have the Survivor gods taken pity on me for my years and years of pathetic Survivor predictions? We'll just have to wait and see. But will my wife be waiting and seeing with me? Not likely. At least not as long as Jaime and Peih-Gee are around.
What do you think? Was the decision to throw the challenge ingenious or idiotic? Were they smart to vote off Aaron instead of James? Post your thoughts below, or else....
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