"It was such a Godfather move." - Kathy Vavrick O'Brian

Kathy (and Lex too, but really Kathy) made the right move in booting Jerri.

I say Kathy because she is THE power player in what's left of Mogo Mogo. All the decisions have been hers to make - she decided whether it would be 6-1 Rich or 4-3 Colby, she cast a major shadow over Donaldson leaving, Ethan went to her to save himself when he got the boot, and Amber made sure to specifically corner her to discuss how to stay, prompting Kathy to convince Lex. If she does go next, it should be because she is the power player that Chapera needs to take out.

Many feel Mogo Mogo made a stupid decision, but really think about what would have happened if they elected to oust Amber. The whole buying a favour from Rob was one motivation, but with Amber gone they would still be facing a 5-4 deficit against a very united team totally pissed about losing the glue that held their tribe together. And Mogo Mogo would still need to find someone on Chapera to defect in order to stay in the game. So just how likely is that to happen if they are at 5-4? "Hey Tom or Alicia - come on over to us. You're going to go fifth on your current team, but if you join us you'll...um...probably also go fifth and completely screw over the majority of the jury. What a great deal!" Nope, Chapera would just circle the wagons and that would be it.

However...as it stands they go in 6-3, and need to get two people on their side to switch things up. But this way it's a much better situation - an alliance of six is much more unwieldy, and the numbers make more sense for two people to peel off and try their lot with the Mogos. Rob has promised Lex a favour, and either he delivers or Rob loses Lex's vote on the jury - there's another good reason. Plus as a bonus Lex is thinking he might be able to resurrect the ghost of an Africa alliance with Big Tom. Why not? Lex is close to the guy, and whatever Tom has heard from Rob he's certainly smart enough to realize that with Romber he's the very definition of a third wheel.

Now note that neither plan is likely to work...but overall Mogo Mogo picked the lesser of two evils. I wish Shii Ann would have been the sacrificial lamb though - I really enjoyed watching Jerri this time around. She seems like the type that would in fact be very easy going to hang around...to a point. You push her, and watch out. Unfortunately, pushing people to their limits is just what Survivor does. I still say she kicked Rupert's ass in that shelter argument though. Anyway, Jerri leaving shows just who is controlling that tribe. Lex had Jerri in his hip pocket, Kathy had Shii Ann. So who ends up losing their respective hanger-on? That would be Lex.

We're at the threshold of Survivors saying "At least I did better than before!" I fully expect Rob and/or Shii Ann to at least mention that they have made it to the jury for the first time, unlike everyone else. If Alicia makes it through next week, she's bested herself. And then Rupert and Jenna. And so on. This may cause people to become a little more conservative, just to make it over that hump - another reason why Chapera probably isn't going to crack.

Rob may have been pulling Godfather moves, but this episode was truly THE Amber Brkich Shining Moment of all time. If there is anyone left who feels Amber is somehow unworthy of being there, or of winning the show...man, are you paying attention?

She is the glue that has held Chapera together. She obviously has a strong bond with Jenna, and she's big time pals with Alicia. When Sue left, who did she hug first going out? Amber. When Jenna Morasca left, who was shown wanting to give her a hug? Amber. When Rich was out, we saw her mutter under her breath "Good." When Ethan left last week, we saw another quote that looked practically post dubbed into the scene "Good." She is clearly being cast as final four at least.

I think the show would actually suffer if it wasn't a Romber final two. Both have absolutely SLAIN the game this time around. Rob has been the challenge machine, and Amber has been the team builder. Then again, Rob has formed strong relationships with both Tom and to an extent Jenna, and Amber has done well in challenges like the balance beam and the log roll. If it came down to the two of them...right now, I don't know how I would vote - they BOTH deserve it!

Ah, the Survivor trivia challenge...with some questions designed to make the Survivors scratch their heads, and others obviously meant for the casual viewer. I mean c'mon...The Alphabet Strategy? Who brought Beef Jerky? Who was evacuated??? What moron Survivor is going to miss those - they're events they witnessed firsthand for cripes sakes! I'm just stunned that Tom didn't know where he was for 39 days. And even more surprised that four other people on his team not only didn't correct him, but actually thought Nairobi is a country.

As for me...with 100% honesty I nailed them all BUT I sort of flubbed the gross food question. I knew it was beetle larvae, but I kicked myself when I realized I forget the name Butok! I used to joke that after they should have titled the Outback version "Survivor II: Electric Didgeridoo" they ought to have called Africa "Survivor III: The Search for Butok." I can't believe I forget my own joke!

Funniest Quote: Channeling the ghost of Robb Zbanik (who got a name check this episode) The Robfather was heard to say "It was haad...wicked haad." The accompanying "Dude" was edited out by the producers.

So next week - the merge. The game gets really heavy! No one wants to lose, they have been there 25+ days now. Anyone leaving the game really has not too much to hang their heads about though - they're on the jury, and know from past experience how much more exposure that gives a person post-Survivor. I think Lex will sneak through another round, as it looks like it will be a very physical water-based Immunity, and Lex is the strongest swimmer left next to Rupert. Or Rob may spare him somehow. Thus my call (no spoilers here) is for Kathy to get the boot.

Whatever happens, it's hard to see anything other than a good ol' fashioned Pagonging happening here. Hey, we haven't seen one since Thailand - it will almost be kind of novel to watch. Stay tuned!