I can't believe that Yau-Man is gone! Two of the three favorites that I started out with this season are gone already. Jonny Fairplay and Yau-Man. Say what you will about Fairplay, but I loved that man in his season in the Pearl Islands. I was so disappointed when he quit. Yah, yah....he said it wasn't a quit, but it was. I don't care what he called it, the rest of us are calling it what IT IS.
But Yau-Man??? That guy is in his prime.....no matter that he was the oldest person on this season....he's a powerhouse! His tribemates knew it, too. Get that man on Exile Island and he was sure to come back with an immunity idol. Dang, I would have LOVED to see that play out. Yau-Man is a power player. He might look older and weaker, but he can pull a challenge out of his hat like you wouldn't believe. He's wise, he's smart (those are two different things, let me assure you) and he's physically fit and a wiry old bugger. I love that about him. I remember seeing him on the first episode of Fiji and pegging him to be one of the first people off. I know he surprised us all. I would have loved to see more of him in this game, but it just wasn't meant to be. As cliche as this sounds, the man is a winner all the way around. One of the kindest, gentlest, honest and most lovable people to ever play this game. Love that man.
On to the rest of the game.....I really didn't know what to think of both Jonathan and Cirie. By the way, I LOVE that Jeff is calling Jonathan, "Penner." I never heard that come out of his mouth during Jonathan's season in the Cook Islands. I wonder if it's a nickname in real life and Jeff only found out about it after the season was over.
During the Cook Islands season, I both loved and hated Jonathan. If that's how he is in real life, I think it would irritate the piss out of me.....but if this is just his game face, then he has a way of wearing people down and wearing them out....and I like that, too. It's a good strategy....until it bites you in the butt. I was surprised that he started in on his usual game face so early in the game....and on Cirie, of all people. Yes, I know that he had to go for Cirie, since Fairplay bailed out and that only left Cirie as the swing vote. He had no other choice. Jonathan came on a bit too strong, though. Cirie may be sweet and vulnerable on the outside, but she's a very self-assured woman and you just don't mess with a woman with a feisty "inside." Cirie seems to be even MORE self-assured this season than on Panama. That girl has a tiger inside and Jonathan stuck his fingers too far into the cage and taunted that tiger. He's bound to lose more than a finger, if he's not careful....though I think it might be past that point. I can't WAIT to see the confrontation between the two of them on tonight's episode!
I also don't know what to think of Cirie's choice for alliances. Yes, Yau-Man would be a tough competitor for her, considering that he's well loved, physically able to handle the challenges and he's very capable of playing this game both socially and mentally. Those are huge threats. I can see why she'd want to take him out early. Now that I've had time to mull over everything that we were allowed to see in the last episode, I can totally see where she's going with her game plan. At least, I THINK this is where she's going with her game plan. It would be smart to align with physically stronger people right now. As physically strong as Parvati, James, Ozzy and Amanda might be, it's obvious that they're not mentally in the game right now. It's easier to have a physically strong person that you can knock out later, after the merge, than to play against mentally strategic players after the merge. Except for maybe Ozzy, Tom (from Palau) and Terry (from Panama) -and only Tom took first out of those three - we've seen from experience that brawn does not always win first prize. It might get you far in the game, but it doesn't promise you first (except, of course, in Tom's place). Survivor has been showing, in past seasons, that the game is getting more mental towards the end. Braun can't always save you.
It's smart for Cirie to take out the mental players now and be able to nail the physical players later. The mental players will be harder to beat after the merge than they are now. If Cirie can make it to the merge with the two "love alliances," she's got herself a ticket to the end of the game, it would seem. I can't see the favorites keeping the love-birds around, but I CAN see them keeping Cirie around. I didn't see this strategy while watching last week's episode, but after having a week to think it all out, I can totally see it now.
Ami.......as much as I can't stand her, I do have to give her a pat on the back for voting her conscience. When Jeff read the votes, I was surprised to see Cirie's name come up. I didn't see that coming AT ALL. I was even more surprised at the end of the show when I saw who gave her the vote. Apparently she had a reason to vote for her and apparently she used her conscience. I can't see any other reason to throw in a vote for Cirie unless she had a personal and strategic reason that her conscience dictated. Good for her. I don't know how far that will get someone in the game, but I do respect it. I suppose that this early in the game, it's a little easier to vote your conscience than to vote strategically for the win.....I can't imagine voting without pure strategic purposes further on in the game. We'll see how she votes in the future.
I know that I'm seriously lacking in posting my Survivor thoughts....I'm making up for lost time here. 
