SURVIVOR REDEMPTION ISLAND EPISODE 2 WRAPUP AND COMMENTARY: MATT! FOR REAL????

The wrapup first and than the opinion that four out of five doctors recommend. Lets get to it.

Things start off back at Redemption Island as Francesca gets settled. She doesnt have a plan and begins to make herself at home. She also talks about how she didnt expect to be voted out as she struggles to get fire started. Back at the Ometepe camp however the rest of the group talks about how wild TC was. Kristian keeps to herself as Phillip and Rob began talking. Phillip tells Rob he owns his vote from this point on. Rob thinks he is out of mind though. Rob meanwhile talks to his core four of six and he decides that Phillip is next in line. The core six is Rob, Grant, Matt, Ashley, Andrea, and Natalie.

The next day things begin at the Ometepe tribe once again as Phillip is out hunting for crab. The rest of the tribe is watching with amusement as he talks in a confessional about how he swore to protect his country as the tears fall. He soon nabs a crab.

Back at Zapatera Ralph begins the day with a rooster call. Russell is not too happy with his behavior and thinks he is flat out dumb. He also talks about how Stephanie is his main ally and that he needs Krista as well. The two of them go off and talk as he sells her the pitch. The three form a pact and he once again starts looking for the immunity idol which he has made famous in the past. The rest of the tribe see him looking around for it and amazingly Ralph stumbles into the idol with little effort.

Back at Ometepe Matt and Andrea talk about the alliance they are in and start to flirt some. Rob sees this and realizes this is not good for his game. He starts talking to Natalie as he zeroes in on who he wants to eventually finish the game with. Soon a plan is hatched about dumping Andrea possibly in order to bust up that twosome. This leads into the day's immunity challenge.

The challenge center on the tribe retrieving keys to open a box which holds balls used to break tiles that are layed out in front of them. There is also reward involved in the challenge as the winner also gets fishing gear. Ometepe finishes the first portion of the challenge ahead as Natalie starts working on the keys and soon falls behind Stephanie for Zapatera. Soon the ball tossing begins as Phillip gets the first one smashed. Eventually Ralph beats Phillip with the ball toss as Matt shakes hands with the opposition. Rob is disgusted by this and cant believe he would congratulate the other tribe. Once again though Russell gets the best of Rob.

Zapatera soon goes back to camp with their spoils. Russell instantly start to look for a clue regarding the hidden idol and he instantly see it and slips it into his pants. Ralph sees this and calls him on it. He tells the others about this and soon they start showing disgust over his methods. Russell shows the clue to his two allies and Mike soon walks in as Russell talks about how weak Sarita is. Ralph joins in and asks Russell about the clue. Mike questions him about it and they box him in about him lying to them. Things get heated between Ralph and Russell as they began to threaten each other.

Back at Ometepe Phillip starts to talk to the tribe again about how proud he was of their effort. No one else speaks up and thats that. Rob however comforts him about it however and he still talks about how Matt was stupid for doing what he did in congratulating the other tribe after the challenge. Kristina meanwhile decides to use the idol. Rob at the same time talks to Ashley and Grant as they decide who goes. They discuss the merits of getting rid of Matt and soon conclude about putting 4 votes on him for what he did.

Rob soon talks to his core six as they hatch the plan for the three girls to vote Kristina and the three guys for Phillip. The actual plan is for Ashley, Grant, himself, and Natalie to vote Matt. Phillip meanwhile wants Rob to tell him who to vote for. Matt is very impresses by Rob's game as Boston's finest tells Phillip he will be fine. He lays the ground rules of how he should act at tribal and also tells him he will put his hand on the shoulder of who he wants him to vote out at tribal and act like he is being targeted.

At TC, the test is on for Phillip as Rob watches his actions closely. Soon Phillip talks about his tatoos and how he has the animal inside of him and that he will fight those who try to attack him in the game. Mostly the session goes without much fanfare as the votes get cast. Right before TC Rob puts his hand on Kristina's shoulder. Kristina does play the idol and the votes come down as Matt shockingly is sent to Redemption Island.

All right now that the boring stuff is out of the way, lets get to the good stuff.

-First off WOW what a shock that was. I never in a million years would have thought that Matt would be voted out second and in all of the supposed spoilers and inside info I cam across, NOTHING talked about this at all. So basically the boot lists that were floating around before the season are all blown up. Anything you might have heard on here or anywhere else is bogus after seeing this. Which is actually a good thing since we now have a mystery season regarding what will happen. Good now thats out of the way. Now as far as Matt going, this is completely Rob's doing and he already has put his stamp on the game. What a move. On the surface I really think it was harsh to boot Matt due to him congratulating the other tribe. I dont think Matt is smart enough to think about doing that move to curry favor with the others down the road. Its just not possible. On the other hand, this was Rob identifying a potential Rob-Amber II alliance between Matt and Andrea. He knows how powerful that alliance can be and so he nipped it in the bud before it got out of control. Kristina is not a threat by any means and Phillip is now Rob's pawn so in actuality he made the right move. Kicking off someone who is a bigger threat both physically and socially.
-Its clear now that Ashley, Natalie, Grant, and Rob are a strong foursome and they will continue to control things no matter how pissed Andrea is. If she wants to stay in the game than she better stop with the woe is me crying bit over someone she knew for five days. Yeah he has nice hair but come on. Get over it and play the game. Rob will take you places. So really it will be her or Kristina the next time out. No reason to get rid of Phillip.
-Rob's tribe is getting destroyed by Russell's in the challenges. You know its absolutely tearing his guts out seeing the Bald Bastard beat him again in a challenge.
-Say what you want about Rob. He played a hardcore, complete dick of a game in All Stars that cost him the title he totally deserved over Amber. He learned from it though and made himself into a likable hero in Heroes VS Villains which could have resulted in a win. Russell on the other hand continues to play the same way...meaning like a complete power hungry asshole who chooses to walk all over people no matter what. He picks out his two bimbos and goes to work lying and causing havoc. He did it again by lying to Mike and Ralph about the hidden immunity idol clue and I loved how Ralph went back at him. It was the best part of the episode and even Mike was not backing down here. The battle lines have been drawn in the sand and Russell is actually being set up to get his ass booted out now that Ralph has the idol. And speaking of Ralph and the idol, how awesome was that when he just literally stumbled onto it while moving some rocks. Loved it. He has the game in his hands now and can move to get rid of Russell if only the others cooperate. Sarita seems to be a Russell hater as well so its three on three right now with Gary, David, and Julie on the periphery. And I dont know about you but David seems like a snake in the grass who I can totally see aligning with Russell. Also in looking at the previews for next week it seems like Stephanie and Russell are planning a big blindside on probably Ralph, not knowing he has the idol. That also tells me that Zapatera loses the challenge next week. Its only a matter of time before this tribe disintegrates due to Russell and his evil ways.
-Russell was really harsh on Sarita. Yeah she struggled but whatever. I hope she stays around for awhile because I like looking at her. Four letters pop in my head when I look at her....anyway.
-Phillip is easily the star of the season right now and I am so happy he stays around for another episode. His scenes are must see. They are like a box of chocolates. You never know...oh you know how it goes. And again he was an agent?
-The Redemption Island scenes with Francesca are pointless and were a waste of time. We could get so much more of the good stuff at camp if we could do away with the stupid "previously on Survivor" crap at the beginning and showing Francesca doing her thing at RI. Move on.
-Does anyone actually think Matt wont wipe the floor with Francesca next week?
-Two episodes down and so far so good.

Thats all for now. Tomorrow the rankings and more. Stay tuned. Lets hear your thoughts.