Survivor Samoa: Russell Holds The Lead And Laura Gets The Boot
Rankings by RTVC Staff Writer Logan Huffman
November 20, 2009
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This week on ‘Survivor Samoa’, the former Galu members were reeling after Kelly’s blindside at the previous Tribal Council, except for Shambo, who loved that her new allies were gaining control of the game.
At the Reward Challenge, Natalie, Russell, Laura, Dave, and Brett emerged victorious, winning a trip to a waterfall on a nearby island, along with a Palm Pre smart phone to use to take photos.
The phone eventually revealed a clue to the hidden Idol, along with an eight-second video clip that revealed it was hiding under a rock.
Back at camp, everyone scrambled for the Idol. Dave overlooked the Idol, and Russell capitalized on his mistake, retracing Dave’s steps and finding his third hidden Idol.
At the Immunity Challenge, Laura finally lost, and Mick claimed his first challenge victory.
Back at camp, Monica devised a plan to try to save Laura by pretending to Foa Foa that she had jumped ship into their alliance, and would vote with them if they booted John. However, the Galu alliance was going to boot Natalie instead.
At Tribal Council, Foa Foa didn’t believe Monica’s plan.
The vote tied: five votes for Laura, and five votes for Natalie.
The dreaded purple rock of doom was going to be the deciding factor, but during the re-vote, John jumped ship, and Laura was ousted from ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Russell H.
Current Ranking: 1 Previous Ranking: 1
I have to give Russell credit and leave him at the start of the leaderboard this week. He found the Idol for a third time, which is just ridiculously, insanely awesome. The way things worked out this week, he didn’t even have to use it! With the hidden Idol in tow and Russell’s sharp game play, Russell earns another first place ranking.
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Mick
Current Ranking: 2 Previous Ranking: 3
Mick is one of the only people to rank differently this week, moving up one spot to second place this week. I have to give Mick the boost due to his first individual Immunity Challenge win. Also, he doesn’t have the same sort of enemies that Russell does, so if Mick does happen to make it to the end, it could all be very beneficial for him.
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Natalie
Current Ranking: 3 Previous Ranking: 2
Natalie drops one spot this week, switching places with Mick. I still think that Natalie could be playing the game the best, and if she makes it to the end, she could have a strong chance of winning against someone with as much baggage as Russell.
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Jaison
Current Ranking: 4 Previous Ranking: 4
Jaison remains in fourth place this week. Jaison did perform well in this challenge, which was nice to finally see. Jaison isn’t really playing the game too hard, flying under the radar like Mick and Brett. Jaison’s strategy seems probable to take him far at this point.
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Shambo
Current Ranking: 5 Previous Ranking: 5
Once again, Shambo remains in fifth place this week. Shambo is doing much better in the game now that she has broken free from Galu. She finally appears to be in a power alliance. Shambo is doing much better than any of the other former Galu members, and she may have something to show for it.
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John
Current Ranking: 6 Previous Ranking: 6
John ranks in sixth place yet again this week. Although he may get picked off later, John made a good decision tonight. It was too risky to leave it up to a random rock to decide whether his time in the game continued or not. He cut his losses and voted off Laura, something the others should have considered. If that’s enough to prove his loyalty to Foa Foa, then he should be safe for now.
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Brett
Current Ranking: 7 Previous Ranking: 7
Brett remains in seventh place this week. Brett doesn’t really play the game too hard, and just continues to lay low. It’s worked for him so far, so I’m not going to bash his strategy.
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Dave
Current Ranking: 8 Previous Ranking: 8
Dave retains his ranking this week. I think Dave can sometimes come off as a little too smug and cocky, but there is definitely nothing to be smug or cocky about for his alliance at this point. If they don’t flip someone from the other side, they are all finished.
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Monica
Current Ranking: 9 Previous Ranking: 9
Monica remains in ninth place, which is last this week. While Monica’s plan was quite brilliant, John messed everything up. At least we now know Monica is capable of the sort of game play needed to win this game. However, I think it may be too little, too late.
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Laura
9th Boot
Laura had this coming for a while, but not exactly like this. Laura made her huge mistake in making an enemy in Shambo. If she had even been civil to Shambo, then the votes wouldn’t have turned out like this. In the end, while Laura was a decent player, John wasn’t willing to risk himself for her, and that combination led to her being the eleventh castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Kelly
8th Boot
Poor Kelly. Her blindside was one of the best in Survivor history, but I know it was rough for her. She was playing the game decently and performed impressively in challenges, but she had to take the bullet for Laura. Under any other circumstance, Kelly would have been fine, but the uniqueness of this situation did her in. Kelly only received four votes at Tribal Council compared to Russell’s seven votes, but his Hidden Idol did her in, causing her to become the tenth castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Erik
7th Boot
This is somewhat of a shock. Erik seemed to be a strong player, but unfortunately, I think his arrogance got the best of him. He thought he was controlling the game, and it was just too threatening to other people. And the worst part is, he could have saved himself with his Idol. Erik became the ninth castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’ in a 10-2 vote.
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Liz
6th Boot
Liz just had a very rough time in the game. I think Liz was actually a decent player that was in a very bad position. She got on the wrong tribe, and with Foa Foa’s constant losses, she just never had the chance to recover. If she had been on Galu, or even a different season of ‘Survivor’, I really think Liz could have been a great player, and could have gone very far in the game. Liz became the eighth castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’ after a unanimous vote.
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Russell S.
2nd Medical Evacuation
Although I thought Russell was kind of arrogant and cocky, I hate to see anyone go out of the game the way he did. I think his attitude was due to his competitive nature, probably the same way I would be if I were on the show. I’m very sorry to Russell that he had to go out the way he did. Russell became the seventh castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Ashley
5th Boot
This isn’t a shock. Ashley hasn’t been in a good position since day one, and her weak challenge performances only reset the spotlight on to her. Ashley was a weak player, and it finally caught up to her. Ashley became the fifth castaway to be voted off of ‘Survivor Samoa’ in a unanimous vote.
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Yasmin
4th Boot
I don’t think Yasmin understands why she was booted out. She was definitely on the confrontational side, which didn’t help her, and I understand wanting to save energy for challenges, but doing nothing around camp isn’t looked favorably upon. Seeing her walk very slowly down the Tribal Council steps in her high heels after she was booted may be one of my favorite ‘Survivor’ scenes ever. Yasmin was booted in an 8-2 vote, becoming the fifth castaway to leave ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Ben
3rd Boot
Ben did not play the game well. He seemed to have the right skills for survival, but clearly the social skills were lacking. He incessantly picked fights with someone, never a good strategy on ‘Survivor’. And he even had a key player fighting for him, but in the end, Ben had already done too much irreparable damage, causing him to be the fourth castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Betsy
2nd Boot
Betsy had some rough luck. If Mike hadn’t been medically removed from the game, she would probably still be in the game, as Mike would have been the clear target. Unfortunately for Betsy, none of her efforts had any effect, as the tribe had already decided her fate. Betsy became the third castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’.
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Mike
1st Medical Evacuation
I feel bad for Mike. Going out in the challenge like that is a bad way to leave the game, but if he hadn’t been medically removed from the game after the challenge, I think he would have been voted off at Tribal Council anyway. Mike became the second castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’ after being medically removed from the game due to low blood pressure and difficulty breathing.
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Marisa
1st Boot
Marisa seemed to be a somewhat decent physical competitor, but it all came crashing down for her quickly. She was right to be wary of Russell H., but admitting it to his face was not a good strategy. Always lie and say you are with someone you just allied with! Turn the tables on them instead of letting them oust you. Marisa made a critical mistake, and while it may not have affected her on other seasons, she was dealing with the supposedly most evil player in ‘Survivor’ history. Marisa became the first castaway to exit ‘Survivor Samoa’ in a 7-3 vote.
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Logan is a North Carolina native whose hobbies include a passion for reality shows, hiking, and Mocha Frappucinos. He can be contacted at Logan@RealityTVCalendar.com.
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