Well, maybe I didn't recall correctly, but I really don't remember Chris scrambling on the first episode - and for anyone else on the tribe, his elimination is, in theory, the best way to go, so I still think it's bad gameplay.
Chris didn't have to scramble. The Fat Five was already in existence and he knew he wasn't going home. The four young guys had already banded together (even pregame!) and the Fat Five was a defensive move to save themselves against the threat. As Chris said in his interview to me, "I never understood the logic of making an obvious four man alliance when you're in a 9 man tribe. What do you think the other five guys are going to do? It never made sense."
), but honestly, if you take Chris away, Vanuatu is significantly worse.
