['Survivor: Redemption Island' - 'A Mystery Package']

Well, things just got interesting, didn't they? At this week's Challenge, Jeff Probst presented the tribe with a package that he promised would present a new twist into the game. It wasn't exactly a new twist, per se, but it definitely pushed the season into an interesting phase.

After Julie's elimination last week, Ralph and Steve are in dire straits indeed. If they can't find a chink in Rob's "Ometepe Six," their days on the island are numbered.

I won't say they have no shot, though, because we still don't know how Redemption Island is going to factor into the endgame. The fun thing about that, though, is neither does Rob.

The only wrinkle in his old-school strategy the last time he played was the Hidden Immunity Idol. Now that he's got that all locked up -- or at least it looks that way -- it's smooth sailing from here on out. Until new elements are brought in.

Rob seems to be someone who's studied the game. He's mastered the social aspect of it. His social game this season is one of the most impressive I've ever seen. If he makes it to the finale, he absolutely deserves to win the million dollars for how effectively he played every single person on his tribe.

Hell, the way he played, Matt deserves a prize by itself. Maybe not the "Nice Guy of the Year" award, but as I've already stated, he's outplaying Russell at his own game. That was proven completely this week as Steve did some last minute scrambling with Rob's threesome of girls but Rob's mental sway over them is rock solid. They weren't even rocked when his past allegiance betrayals came out.

If they were to flip and join Steve and Ralph, they could easily get Rob out of the game. Rob has proven he will stab you in the back the moment you're no longer of use to him. Ask Lex about that from the 'All-Star' season. Rob was a villain in 'Heroes vs. Villains' for a reason, and yet Ometepe chooses not to see it.

Well, Phillip sees it, but he also sees the spirit of his grandfather, and feathers appearing out of thin air. To his credit, he did find his buried shorts in rather short order. It was kind of impressive, and then immediately annoying as he crowed about it way too much.

In a lot of ways, Rob reminds me of Brian Heidik and Chris Daugherty. Both used charm to win their seasons, and while they may not be remembered as the best winners ever, it was a strategy that clearly worked, and Rob is doing much the same.

The Daugherty comparison is especially apropos as Daugherty won in a season split by gender, despite being outnumbered in the end six women to one man. Rob has the same kind of magic working on these three girls left in the Ometepe tribe. Should they have flipped and voted him out, yeah they probably should have.

They could have easily sided with Zapatera long enough to get rid of their own tribe, and then take out both Steve and Ralph to send themselves to the final three. But somehow, they'd rather just ride along with Rob, and see what happens.

It's interesting to me that other than Andrea -- who stood out because of her relationship and guilt over Matt -- these girls are forgettable and interchangable. I'm constantly forgetting which one of them is which. They have been virtually invisible thus far in the game, which is not a winning strategy.

There were no real surprises again this week until the end. Mike and Matt won again at Redemption Island by playing shuffleboard. The log roll Challenge is always fun to watch. I was rooting for Ralph to win, though it would only have meant Steve going home first. But Grant pulled it out.

Steve again tried to talk the girls into making a big move, but once again this season nobody did and Ralph was voted out. Then Jeff revealed the twist, which was a second Immunity Challenge and a second vote, both happening immediately.

At this point, Steve needed a win to start the Ometepe cannibalization early, and he nearly got it. But Rob proved himself again a real threat in mental games, reclaimed the Immunity necklace and Steve was eliminated as expected.

Now, though, the game gets interesting. Not only does Ometepe have to start cutting their own, there are four people on Redemption Island. Three of them Zapatera and one someone who has no love for Ometepe. How many will get eliminated from the game next week? If it continues to be one, does that mean three people will rejoin the game at some point?

How many Ometepe will fall before they do? If Zapatera can own at Redemption Island, they could potentially return to the game with enough numbers to throw a huge monkeywrench in Rob's plans. This is that new element to the game he can't strategize properly for. Certainly his strategy so far has alienated everyone he's sent there (though in Matt's case it took two times to get the message across).

'Survivor: Redemption Island' airs Wednesdays, 8PM ET on CBS.

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