Episode Report Card Sara M: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT II II
By Sara M | Season 19 | Episode 9 | Aired on 11.12.2009
While the others swim and frolic, Kelly, Monica, and Shambo talk about which Foa Foa member to take out next. Kelly is all for Li'l Russell going, but Shambo says no because "he sucks at challenges," despite the fact that all the evidence has pointed to the contrary. Kelly now thinks that Shambo is protecting Li'l Russell, although I don't know if you can call such a transparent attempt "protection." If anything, it made Li'l Russell more of a target since Shambo so clearly wants him to stick around as long as possible. "He needs to go," Kelly interviews. Monica stresses the importance of not telling anyone from Foa Foa about the clue, especially since Li'l Russell was able to find one without a clue. Which means he doesn't need a clue to find an idol, right? And he's back at camp with three of his tribemates and only two Galus to keep an eye on him, one of whom is invisible? But they're too busy worrying that Shambo could join Foa Foa to pay that any mind.
Back at Aiga, Li'l Russell searches for the idol. He says if he finds it this time, he won't tell anyone. He said that last time, though, and then he told everyone. He searches and searches around landmarks, figuring the idol must be hidden near one. "There cannot be any other place," he says. Why not? Used to be in this game, they buried the idol in totally random spots that were like twenty paces away from a tall tree. But now they're lazy, so they just stuck it under the swamp bridge, where Li'l Russell totally finds it. UGH. Fuck you, idol hiding crew. No one should be able to find it without a clue. Especially not TWICE. Of course, Li'l Russell runs right to the nearest camera to interview about how awesome he is. "This might be worth one meel-yon dollars," he says. Dude, if you're going to tell us that you're a millionaire you should at least act like you've been there before. He says he may have missed out on fried chicken and brownies, but it was worth it for the immunity idol. Fuck that. Fried chicken and brownies sound delicious. Also, I have to say that if they hadn't shoved this guy down our throats from the very beginning and let him sit in the background sometimes or cut back on the 1,456 interviews he got every episode, there's a good chance I would have liked Li'l Russell. He's not even playing against the other contestants -- he's playing against the producers and exploiting their laziness and predictability. Every time he finds a "hidden" idol without a clue it's a welcome "TRY HARDER" sign for everyone associated with this show, who have been resting on their laurels for several seasons now.