scepticA wrote:
Archibald, I agree about the smart/clever distinction for RH. However, what do you make of him telling us he's gonna keep the HII quiet (two times!) and then spilling the beans (two times!) My perception is that he really wants others to ooh and aah over his great smarts, and he's seeking out external validation. Which is not IMO usually very smart OR clever. But we're not getting much of any inkling that any of the others have any cogent strategic vision at all, so his stands out almost by default. We should acknowledge that he's not just sucking away all of the visibility, but just about all of the wheeling,dealing,strategizing, and all that other cool stuff. We only heard of one divergent plan, the 4 galu guys + shambo. That lasted all of 1 episode. So in the land of the strategically blind, this one-eyed chap seems rather wise. The only other strategic play that's been highlighted is Natalie in this ep.
I don't even consider Russell a strategist. Russell runs around like a rat with its tail caught in a trap. His "strategy" consists of making final 2 promises with everyone in his tribe (including people who are friends), accosting people with the immunity idol and demanding that they vote his way, even though he is down in numbers 4-8, and telling such transparent lies that Monica has him figured out from the get go. Russell is sprinting in a long-distance race. He might be way out in the lead, but eventually he's going to run out of steam. And I agree, compared to almost everyone else this season he is playing a good game, but that means that he hasn't done something as stupid as Dave's brilliant "We'll just wait until tribal council to see if Russell has the idol, let's not worry about it now" move. Like I said earlier, in any other season, Russell would be gone by now. If he's in the finals and they vote for him, they're more near sighted than the jury in Gabon.
