By: Mary Cavaliere

We were down to the final six, and after tonight’s episode there is only one more show, which will be aired this coming Sunday in the two-hour finale followed by the reunion show. 

The first challenge (for reward) was another race through a swamp where tribe members retrieved different color balls.  Once they grabbed a ball, they had to head back through the swamp to shoot the ball into a basket (only it was a really small basket).  The men dominated this challenge and the women didn’t even compete.  Bob won the challenge and was able to choose two other tribe members to join him in a good meal, a shower, a sleepover, and a little bit of gorilla watching.  Unfortunately he chose Crystal and Kenny and sent Susie to Exile Island who enjoyed the Sugar Shack so much she re-named it the Susie Shack!

At first it seemed that Matty had a huge target on his back until Sugar started feeling sorry for him.  She now sees Kenny and Crystal for who they really are and made the decision to drop out of her alliance with them, thus shifting the direction of the game.  Every week this girl gives me another reason to want her to win.  She’s a good and decent person, no matter what Corinne may think of her.

The immunity challenge was another puzzle. The tribe members were asked to study the features of a Gabonese mask and then race to re-create an empty mask in an identical manner.  The trick?  They had to do it all blind-folded.  Crystal and Susie were lost during most of this challenge and at first we thought Bob would win, and then it seemed Kenny would win, but in the end Bob prevailed and won immunity.

Kenny tried to strategize with Bob hoping to make him feel guilty enough to hand over the immunity idol to him and then he could be blind-sided.  But Sugar once again intervened and took control of the situation.  She convinced Bob to not give up his immunity idol and when she brought her own immunity idol to tribal council, she willingly handed it over to Matty so that all votes against him would not be counted.

Although it wasn’t the greatest of blindsides, it was still obvious to Crystal and Kenny that they were no longer in control of the game, and that was enjoyable to watch as a viewer.  Crystal headed home and it was well deserved. At this point I don’t see how Kenny could possibly survive another week.  He thinks he’s going to win this game, but clearly people are finally on to him, including the jury, and there is no way he’s going home with the million dollars, even if he somehow he manages to make it to the final two. 

Who do I want to win?  My first pick would be Sugar of course and my second would be Bob.  Who do I NOT want to win?  Kenny.  He’s a little snake in the grass who I don’t admire very much.  Susie has been pretty invisible during this entire competition so I don’t think she should win either because slipping under the radar is not really what the game is about.  It’s about outwitting and outsmarting and she hasn’t done any of that all along.  As for Matty, I don’t have any feelings one way or the other about him winning the game.

Before I close I do have to say to Randy (with a sarcastic grin of course)………..nice hair!!!

You can read more of Mary’s television blogs at www.myspace.com/italiangirl57