New Tribe, Same Result

As predicted, the four members of Foa Foa and the eight of Galu have merged into one tribe this week. The new tribe has been dubbed Aiga, a Samoan term for “extended family”. The last time I saw a program with a family like this, it aired on HBO and was called The Sopranos. Mind you though, Tony Soprano hasn’t got anything on Russell Hantz, the evil sock burner.

Hantz is just as ruthless as the mob boss from New Jersey ever was. He has his faithful minions just like Soprano did. Remain faithful and you are okay, and you stick around.

Similar to when Soprano couldn’t trust Adriana anymore and she was "eliminated", Russell figured he could no longer trust Liz last week…Poof she was gone!

Tonight, prior to the merge, Russell told us that he had to make sure that, “My seed is planted in all the dumb asses’ heads.” That was five minutes into the show!

Ten minutes later, when the tribes had officially merged into one, they celebrated with a big feast. By the end of the feast Russell had Monica from the old Galu tribe feeding him grapes. His take – “I can already see that I am ruler of this kingdom! Who do you feed grapes to? The King, that’s who!”

Russell the Evil Sock Burner

Back at camp, after the feast, Russell started working his diabolical magic on the members of the old Galu tribe. When he saw that Laura couldn’t be trusted, her fate was sealed. Before going to the Individual Immunity Challenge, it looked as if he had convinced enough of Galu to do away with Laura. Of course the members of the old Foa Foa mob, oops, make that tribe, would be steadfast in their loyalty to their leader.

Unfortunately, the producers of Survivor threw a wrench into the plans when they went all politically correct and declared that there would be a male and a female Individual Immunity awarded tonight. Of course the annoying Laura won Immunity and sent Russell back to the drawing board.

The portion of the show right before Tribal Council is usually Reality Television gold. This is when longtime Survivor Geeks can usually get a rough idea of whose heads might be on the chopping block.

Tonight was no exception, but who would it be?

To make things even more interesting, Erik the tree dweller finally grew a set and decided he would be the one choosing who would be sent packing. What happened to the guy who was just happy to see a rainbow?

With this new development in the equation, the plot thickened.

Would it be Shambo and her glorious mullet? Would Laura’s equally annoying sidekick, Monica, be the next to go? Had Erik turned into Phil Leotardo (another Sopranos reference) and organized a revolt against Russell?

While with the Sopranos, you didn’t mess with Tony Soprano, likewise in Survivor Samoa you don’t mess with Russell Hantz. When Phil Leotardo foolishly went after Tony Soprano, he was rewarded by having his head ran over and crushed by an SUV carrying his own grandchild. Erik’s fate for going after Russell Hantz wasn’t quite as gruesome, but Jeff Probst did tell him that the Tribe had spoken.

Tonight’s episode was very satisfying for me. New tribe, same result. However, Fellow Survivor Geek Auntie Janet couldn’t disagree more. She hates Russell. So much so, that she actually is pulling for the annoying Laura based solely on the fact that Laura is out to get Russell. I tried to explain to her that it’s only business. Until next time…from the booth.