Survivor
Survivor

Episode Report Card
Miss Alli: B | 577 USERS: B-
YOU GRADE IT
Shuffle, Then Deal

Peachy brings them down to sit at the table, which seems to be the first time it occurs to Jenna that something of significance might actually be about to happen, despite the fact that a rearrangement of tribes should have occurred to her if she's ever seen the show. Of course, she might not have retained the information if it would have crowded out some portion of her ego, which takes up pretty much all the space inside her eensy-weensy brain. Peachy dumps out onto the table a bunch of little slats; each slat has the name of a contestant written on it. Dave and Jenna are drafting new tribes. First he'll pick a girl and she'll pick a guy, and then they'll alternate. It's exactly the way cult leaders do the draft when they have to repopulate their communes.

Dave is first up, picking a woman. Of course, given that Jenna told him all about the close bond she has with Heidi, it's pretty clear that breaking that up is advantageous to him, so he grabs Heidi, much to Jenna's great sadness. What will she do without the other cute girl to take care of her? Awww. Jenna interviews that Heidi was her "rock." Or, I suppose, "rocks." Jenna picks Alex for his "athletic ability." And I think that actually is why she took him, because she has nothing to go on, really, given that Dave was smart enough not to give up his guts like they were playing Operation and he was the patient. Dave's first pick of a guy is Butch, which I think is really, really interesting. Jenna next takes Deena, saying it's just not even close, in terms of who she wants next. Dave next chooses Christy, and then Jenna takes Rob. Dave takes Roger, and Jenna takes Shawna. So Dave winds up with Jeanne, and Jenna with Matthew.

See, I think Dave did that brilliantly, despite the fact that Jenna's team may be physically stronger. And I say "may," because although Matthew and Alex are probably stronger than Roger and Butch, Roger and Butch are no pushovers, and Jeanne and Christy are certainly strong enough to hold up against Shawna and Deena. Throw in Dave's own advantage over Jenna, and I'm not sure these teams look as physically lopsided to me as they originally did. Oh, and Heidi and Rob are a draw, as far as I'm concerned. Meanwhile, from an emotional and strategic perspective, Jenna has wound up with Deena (who has reluctantly allied with her but doesn't like her), Shawna (who doesn't like her anymore), Alex (who is charismatic and won't like her laziness), Matthew (who won't like her bullshit), and Rob (who will be worthless in the hypnotizing presence of actual boobies). Dave, on the other hand, has wound up with Roger (who will always be loyal to a guy over a girl and is therefore excellent protection for the other guys in a mixed tribe), Butch (who I get the impression has a good relationship with almost everyone and is a straight shooter, which helps his team), Christy and Jeanne (who Dave undoubtedly knows from Jenna have resentments against elements of their old tribe but little connection to each other, which is good for him), and Heidi (who is dumb and easily led and has no connection to Christy and Jeanne). Basically, Dave has put together a tribe that, at least on the surface, seems very unlikely to go in a direction that threatens him anytime soon. He got rid of the people who don't like him so much (Rob, in particular), and who else in that group is likely to lead a charge on him? I mean, I'm not sure he thought it out this far ahead, and you can never really know how things will play out, but I think Dave did really, really well.

Survivor

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