Survivor: Marquesas -- Episode 10 Talkback (Spoilers)

[Terminatah]

Days 28, 29, and 30.

I want to talk about this reward challenge. The musical chairs shell-diving challenge eliminated "Birthday Girl" Vecepia, "Bad Swimmer" Sean, and "Bubbleheaded Princess" Neleh, leaving the final rock-retrieving sprint to Paschal, General, Kathy, and Tammy. Of all people, Paschal wins. Now, let's be honest. Paschal is at least ten years older than all three of his opponents. Any one of them would easily beat him in a fight. But he was able to CARRY A 40 POUND BOULDER -- UNDERWATER -- faster than they could. Maybe he had some extra strength in reserve thanks to the feast of pork and fish he was treated to a couple days ago (which was pretty much all Sean).

Now, I knew Jeff Probst was going to wait until the very last second to even mention the possibility of inviting a fellow survivor to come along on the cruise. The same thing happened in all the previous Survivors. It's a tricky situation, because at that point, Paschal has to make the decision on the spot without giving it any real thought, and its repercussions could have a serious effect on his approval rating in the tribe. Paschal didn't think about his choice, but he probably should have, because he could not have chosen any more poorly.

Neleh was the LAST person he needed to schmooze in that tribe. And the reward schmooze is a powerful thing. I don't know if he was paying attention at the time, but his having shared in a special reward trip with Sean A MERE COUPLE DAYS AGO had established a powerful bond between them, one that can be useful come voting time. Why waste such a useful tool on the one person in the tribe who is already guaranteed not to vote for you? This is known as a poor allocation of resources. So who should Paschal have brought along? Probably not Sean, because the two had enjoyed a very full meal recently, and an immediate second round would have been extremely unfair to the others who never once got a food reward. Tammy and the General had gone the longest without a proper meal, but inviting them might have been a bit risky in the eyes of his solid alliance. Kathy probably deserved it the most, but in all fairness, she had previously attended two separate food rewards. So, in my opinion, Vecepia would have been the most diplomatic decision, no doubt about it. He even had the PERFECT COVERUP to hide any hint of manipulative motivation -- it was her birthday.

So Paschal and Neleh had a lovely meal and didn't bring a single morsel back to share with the tribe. Well, that's not true. Neleh was quite generous with the slobbery mint she stealthily sneaked off the yacht in her mouth. In the technical sense, they really should not have felt obligated to bring anything back. But in another, more accurate sense, they were fools not to. When Sean and Paschal surprised the tribe with pocketfuls of leftovers from their reward trip A MERE COUPLE DAYS AGO, that was like the best thing ever. And naturally, the tribe expected the same from Paschal and Neleh on this reward trip. But the fact that they didn't think to sneak anything back with them leads me to surmise that the whole initial food-sneaking caper was all Sean's idea. And the worst part about it is that Neleh actually described her whole luxurious experience for them in broad detail. Think about it, toots. Is there any humanly possible way this could have a positive effect on your fate at tribal council? You'd be better off cracking ethnic jokes. You NEVER brag about rewards EVER. Neleh has a lot to learn about putting herself in other people's shoes. And for a guy named after two separate languages, I'm surprised Paschal English wasn't better able to read these people.

Then the General won the fire immunity challenge. Good for him, and I wonder if they got to eat the popcorn they made.

Side note: When Survivor first started, I remember Jeff Probst would always ask the survivors to come up with reasons why they should not be voted off during tribal council. But lately I've noticed that right now he only asks questions that inspire reasons to be voted off. Take that, you suckers!

Sean and Kathy have really grown on me. I think (immunity permitting) that Sean, Vecepia, and Kathy should eliminate Neleh and Paschal immediately, to be disposed in whatever order they see fit, followed by the General. Ideally, they should leave the General in the running for the final 4, because that immunity challenge typically consists of balance plus endurance, and this guy hasn't had a decent meal in so long, there's a chance he might goof it. And if by some miracle, he makes it into the final 3, he is likely to lose there too, because that is typically a know-your-past-teammates challenge, and he doesn't strike me as the type of guy who would sit around memorizing the names of Paschal's dog and two daughters.

You can view pictures of Paschal at cbs.com.

-Terminatah