Finale

I'm going to go ahead and say I think Natalie is a fitting winner for the title of Sole Survivor. Russell would also have been a fitting winner for the title of Sole Survivor. Natalie played the better social game, thus netting herself the votes to win the game. Yet, Russell played the better strategic game from day one. These observations are obvious.
Going a little deeper than strategy, let's try to gauge the amount of passion each player had for winning the game. Russell's passion for achieving the title was extremely prevalent, while Natalie's was not as glaring. This doesn't necessarily mean the reality of each players' passion corresponded with how much they showed it, but let's assume it does. Based on this, is Russell more deserving than Natalie for the title?

I struggling to properly articulate how I really feel about who should have won. There are too many factors to include to just say who I think is the most deserving. So, I'll just say this: in my opinion, both are equally worthy of the title of Sole Survivor.
It all comes down to the connections Natalie and Russell made with the other players. Those connections and what they entailed are what are responsible for how each jury member voted. Russell's connections were obviously more tainted than Natalie's, so he hoped the jury members would see the value of his strategy and give him the credit he felt he deserved. Turns out the grudges and bitterness stayed strong, influencing the jury greatly. As Jeff himself said, "The jury did not vote for Natalie, but against Russell."

Life lesson learned? Keep your connections with others clean and genuine and you'll find self-satisfaction in the end. But that's just my opinion, of course.

Final Five

Just like my previous post, I believe friendships can be made on Survivor. We're watching them happen. But, it can be very hard to separate strategy and emotion, as Natalie pointed out. She wants to move on to win the game, but she also wants to cultivate her relationships with her tribe members.

I thought Shambo's assessment of the Foa Foa's was a very fair one. Shambo regards loyalty highly, even if those loyalties work against her. I can respect her for respecting the gameplay choices of the remaining survivors.

Short post.. but, worthwhile nonetheless.

Morality

I'll start by saying this: I would not be a great player on Survivor. Sure, I could probably deal with all the negatives of being a castaway, but what would get me is the connections I'd make with the other people. Most people are social, and when socialization occurs, connections are made. Those connection are important to me, important to my philosophy of being successful in life. In my opinion, if one can make and honor genuine connections between themselves, others, and their environment around them, they can be called successful.

But enough of that. To the point:
Yes, I do believe real friendships can be made on Survivor. I believe this because I've seen it before, and I'm seeing it now. Simple as that. As for voting friends off, that depends on the individual doing the voting. If it were me, I would have a very difficult time voting off anyone I connected with. However, in Russell's case, it seems as though his priority for voting is to vote off those who pose a threat to his position in the game.
Just like honoring connections made with others, promises made to others should, in my opinion, be very important to follow through with. Breaking a promise to get oneself further in the game is not justified. At least, I don't think so. But, that's just my opinion. There are other justifiable reasons to break a promise, though.
Mull that over, reader. That is, if anyone will really read this.

What Would I Have Done

If I was apart of the Survivor Auction, I would have done the same as Jaison: use all the cash to procure the advantage in the immunity challenge. I can easily say that now, but, my decision might be different if I were deprived of food for 30 days. That said... my decisions would depend on many things.

The shower was negligible. In a game like Survivor, where simply surviving and getting along with the other tribe members are the most important objectives, a shower is a luxury that should be low on the priority list.

Concerning John's dilemma with the apple pie, I would have gone the high road and sacrificed the pie to share it with others. Intrinsic benevolence is more rewarding in a more spiritual sense than a fleeting piece of pie that tastes great for a few moments.

Blindside Blitz

I believe Russell's two strongest intelligences are Logic and Interpersonal. He's definitely great at dealing with other people, even manipulating them; he logically sees how people will react to different things. Not only is he logical in a people sense, but he has logic when it comes to things like the hidden immunity idols. Without any clues, he finds them and uses them accordingly, thus saving his life in the game.
I think Interpersonal intelligence is the most important intelligence to have to win the game, simply because the strongest aspect of the game is the social one. Forming good connections with others that hold can really save yourself later on in the game.

To be honest, I really have no clue how things will go down. Depending on who finds the next hidden immunity idol, things could go one way or the complete other way. Foa Foa's de facto alliance with Shambo could save them and give them a chance to make it further in the game. As one member said, "the numbers are obvious."

Merge-tastic: Aiga

In my opinion, the merge was necessary at this point in the game because of Foa Foa's dwindling numbers. Now that we have one tribe, we can watch as the competition is turned inward: they'll slowly gang up on each other and pick one another off one by one. The game itself will become more selfish; everyone will be scrambling about to try to keep their neck off the chopping block.


Foa Foa's fate will be decided in the next episode, I think. If Galu "declares open season" on Foa Foa and takes them out one by one, Foa Foa won't have a chance. If the remaining members of Foa Foa can somehow integrate themselves in with some members of Galu, one or two of them may have some chance.
It seems like Russell is the one with the largest target on his back at this point. He'll have to go through all the stops necessary to keep himself alive in the game.

Intellectual Decisions

Galu obliterated Foa Foa in this week's reward challenge. After procuring a very nice lead, Galu continued to rack up the points. Foa Foa fell short, not being able to keep up with Galu, walking away with nothing. The intellectual part of the game really came into play in this challenge, with being able to remember the locations of the items and making smart decisions as to what to keep. Galu utilized both aspects of simply collecting the things you need and going for the win. Their lead certainly gave them to comfortability to take almost anything they wanted; though, Galu only ended up keeping the fire starting kit with tarp.

The point I'm trying to make is that since Galu had such a lead, they didn't really need to focus on points-or-stuff. They had enough points to take a few more items, but they didn't take their chances. Brett as leader was a very good choice, because he made the smart decision of playing it safe while taking the absolutely essential item.

Intelligence is very important to do well in the game; Russell shows this very well, as he is very intelligent with how people work and how to manipulate them for personal gain. The role intelligence plays is that of a dividing line between those who stand a chance to go all the way and win and those who don't.