There were way too many Russells on reality tv this fall.

I sat next to one of them on a plane!

That was this summer though.

I'm happy about the result of Survivor. I think it bodes well for future editions of the game.

Really? Why? How is this not the same old coattail effect we've seen time and time again, with the person who does all the heavy lifting getting shafted because they have no "integrity"?

we have to question: did he do "all the heavy lifting?" Apparently Russell was getting on everyone's nerves out there. His biggest accomplishments were talking to various people individually who knew he was lying to them.

Russell's biggest strategic move was convincing John to vote with them, but aside from that, I'm not sure I buy that he did all the heavy lifting. Natalie's social game got Erik out and contributed to the jury liking her.

Really? Why? How is this not the same old coattail effect we've seen time and time again, with the person who does all the heavy lifting getting shafted because they have no "integrity"?

It's not about Natalie winning, it's about Russell being trounced. To me, the genius of Survivor is that you have to get the jury of people you booted vote for you. There's an exciting tension between strategizing to defeat them and convincing them you deserve to win. It privileges the social aspect and ensures that pleasant people like JT, Yul and Bob win. But if Russell won this time, I think more players would adopt his strategy and future juries might think a complete douchebag play is sufficient to win Survivor.

Russell's biggest strategic move was convincing John to vote with them, but aside from that, I'm not sure I buy that he did all the heavy lifting. Natalie's social game got Erik out and contributed to the jury liking her.

I agree. Russell may have played a *bigger* game, but I don't think he played a smarter one, and Natalie did a hell of a lot more to contribute to their overall strategy than previous under-the-radar winners. I think she did a great job of letting Russell think he was doing all the work, but I don't think he would have survived the merge without her.

The biggest question in my mind is WHY THE HELL DIDN'T BRETT FIGHT TO GET RID OF RUSSELL WHEN HE HAD IMMUNITY???? The hidden idol was out of the game, so no risk there. Brett had immunity, so no risk of backfiring and voting himself out. Why on EARTH wouldn't he go to Mick and Jaison and say hey guys, Russell only wants you in the finals as filler, you know that, right? If Brett had gotten rid of Russell at 5, it would have been him up against Mick, Jaison and Natalie in the final IC and he would be a millionaire right now. Dumbass.

Let me be clear, I don't think Natalie didn't deserve to win. The "rules" of Survivor are pretty simple 1) get to the end, 2) convince people to vote for you. She did that (although I actually think it was people on the jury who really did the latter).

I just don't see this season as being an exception as to how Survivor generally plays out.

But then, I've never wanted Survivor to be more about the social aspect (I get enough of that bullshit in the real world).

Jessica--we were yelling at the screen at Brett about that very thing at the time. "Now's the time,dude, vote out Russell!" But, noooooo.

OTOH, if it didn't occur to the doctor and the law student that voting out Russell might be a good idea, I can't really be too surprised that it also escaped the tee-shirt designer.

May I say that the examples we saw of Brett's t-shirts in the show and at reunion were not particularly impressive.