Russel isnt crazy. He just knows how to manipulate people. He's not like the other two loose cannons.

I did not know about Uncle Willie. Russel didn't seem crazy. Just seemed like a guy that didn't mind being a dick head.

Do you think Jeff gets heads ups from the cameramen as to what is going on in camp? He did a good job of defusing a crazy person. He was smart enough to grasp the danger of sending them back to camp.

I'm surprised none of the other tribe members didn't say anything.

The questions he asks in tribal have always made me think that. Unless they really edit out some of the meaningless questions. Jeff is a pretty smart guy, and good with people. He also seems really close with Brandon. You could see steam coming out of his ears, but I would guess he gets a heads up. I'm not really upset with that either.

boy they sure added in the drama there didnt they

I woulda fought that dude though if I was on that team, dumping my food in the sand like that. no no

Phillip is only one small step above Brandon in terms of social graces and mental stability. Brandon was correct about a few things (1) the whole secret agent code name things are incredibly stupid, (2) Phillip really isn't the leader, (3) he played Brandon 100% wrong which led to the meltdown. The only smart thing Phillip did was walk away and not get chopped into a million pieces by little Hantz.

And, on an unrelated note, I hate the fact that the immunity idols are so easily discovered. When the show first started weren't they buried and virtually impossible to find without getting some clues? It seems so lame that they find them after a 20 minute walk in the woods.

Of course he does. He probably watches the feeds live from his swanky hotel rooms.

Brandon was also correct about Phillip not "winning" the challenge for the team. Phillip lasted longer because he had a much lighter net than Brandon did. The other team focused on getting coconuts into Brandon's net before turning their attention to Phillip. Also, the guy on the other team who was left at the end had terrible technique. He didn't leverage the weight at all the way he was holding the rope.

Regardless, while Brandon was in the right on many of his reasons he's nearly always in the wrong in the way he expresses himself, the decisions he makes, and the actions he takes.

I think last time they went out of their way to make Phillip look like a buffoon, especially when they kept flashing "Former Federal Agent(?)" when he was on camera. The fact that he WAS a former federal agent supports that argument.

He's obviously got some odd ideas, but nobody is as looney as he appeared to be last time.

Yeah - this is probably the least interested I've been in a season in quite some time.

1. I'm tired of bringing back old cast members. It's lame and played out. Bring in all new people.

2. As others have mentioned, the challenges suck. They're all the same and repeats from previous seasons. They need to add some creativity.

3. You're right. The immunity idol deal is ridiculous. It used to take several clues and real searching. Now they always find it without any clues. I remember when they used to be buried a few feet in the sand and you needed clues to locate where to dig (i.e. 10 paces north from the y-shaped tree).

4. The cast members on this season are just boring. Outside of Phillip & Brandon (both unlikable) the people they brought back are uninteresting and have zero personality. Then the new people are dry too. Just total fail by casting this season.

there is a Probst interview thats on the grantland.com pod cast and the host asks him this question. He says he knows nothing going into stuff like like, but he's so good now at reading people that he can sense when something is ****ed up.

I agree about the idol. I don't mind hiding some of them, perhaps early ones, in a place where you could find it, but it should take an incredible amount of work to find it. Having it happen every season bothers me as well.

I also agree that the challenges aren't great this season. I actually don't hate the cast(don't love it), but the challenges and idols aren't helping.

A dogpile on Brandon would be my first reaction. I'm thinking that they tell the contestants before hand that if you are in a fight you are automatically ejected from the game. Or we would have seen one break out seasons ago.

I think they will be changing up the tribes very soon.

Too early to change up tribes.

New purple tribe has no chance. Next few weeks appear boring.