(S13E12) This week's episode makes me ponder what is really important in the game. The former Aitu alliance seems iron-clad. They have a plan and they are sticking with it. They have the numbers. And yet, underneath it all, maybe the underdogs, the little team that could, still feels like the uncool kids. How else can I justify their willingness to be swayed by a couple of corn cobs and a few friendly glances from the dim remains of the frat boy tribe?

(S13E11) This week's episode of Survivor was one of the most heated I have ever seen. It's definitely more like Big Brother than Survivor with Raro in the game. If there were dishes to be done or a bathroom to be cleaned they'd be fighting about that too. Still, it makes for some interesting watching and it does seem to be rattling Cool Yul whose may be letting his dominant position go to his head.

(S13E09) It's merge time. It's a bummer for me since I really was hoping they'd just let little Aitu fight it out to the finish. But instead we now have Aitutonga which is a bit like a frat keg party mixed with a meeting of the chess club. The best thing about this season is that there are a series of small paired alliances and then a few mercenaries. No one likes a mercenary but they sure keep things interesting.

At the merge feast, Yul offers the first olive branch saying that he looks forward to getting to meet the other tribe. "You've got class," answers Nate enthusiastically. He's enthusiastic, of course, because he is drunk off all the beer at the merge feast. Jonathan is increasingly frustrated with the "youngsters" of Raro who don't seem to care about winning the game and act as if the are on The Real World instead of Survivor. So it seems natural that he should hook up with Yul again.

(S13E08) I have a tendency to root for the underdog. Usually it's deeply frustrating. Cheering on Aitu, however, is the most transcendent underdog experience I have ever had. Sure, they are outnumbered but they are adorable and they have this amazing tendency to win even though the usual laws of Survivor mean that they should be slowly picked off. And maybe, just maybe, Yul is the perfect Survivor contestant (provided he doesn't blow it in the crucial coming weeks).

(S13E07) Were I stuck on Survivor this season there is one rule I would follow: shut your yap. I don't think I've seen a season before where free speech could get you in so much trouble. Blowing a challenge doesn't get you voted out this season but tooting your own horn or speaking your mind is a deadly offense.