First off Happy Thanksgiving to all you Americans reading. Since we had our Thanksgiving last month I am not stuffed on food right now so I am good to go on some thoughts on this week’s episodes. There were some great episodes of Survivor and The Amazing Race this week. As always I will start with The Amazing Race.

The biggest thing that pissed me off is the poor decision making and racing by the Ice Girls. I will never understand why teams decide to split up a challenge rather then try to get it all done at once. Especially since they only had to leave behind one item for a second trip. If I am racing I am making sure it is all done in one trip unless I have no other choice and that wasn’t the case since three other teams were able to get it done in one try. Between that blunder and the fact they misread the clue and wasted way to much time lead to their elimination. Granted it was probably long over due. They were never great at the challenges and made top five based on other peoples mistakes so I guess they should be happy with this result.

The other thing that got on my nerve this week was Nicole’s attitude at the Roadblock. I couldn’t believe she actually tried to copy Leo and Jamal and I was actually happy they stopped her. Especially after her holy than thou attitude about U-Turning them for something so minor. I also didn’t understand Amy’s need to help her. Nicole and Travis are a strong team and that could have been a great time to get rid of them.

I don’t say anything about the final four teams. All four teams have been great racers and there really isn’t a weak link in the four of them. All teams have won legs and it can really go any way at this point. If I had to make a pick I think the final rankings will be:

4. Leo and Jamal

3. Tim and Marie

2. Nicole and Travis

1. Jason and Amy

But even with those any of the four teams could win the season and I wouldn’t be surprised although I would hate for Tim and Marie to win since she annoys me so much.

Now on to Survivor. We started off the episode with Laura winning and then helping Tina win the competition. Some people say this was clearly a cheat but those people are mostly fans of Vytas. It isn’t that I don’t like Vytas but I think it was a brilliant move. Vytas tied to copy Laura’s final puzzle and there is no rule that she couldn’t help Tina. It was also smart since Vytas was the far superior player to Tina and if you can have the chance to take him out you try to do it.

I actually liked the idea of the four newbies teaming against Tyson but I had a strong feeling it wasn’t going to happen. I actually expected Hayden to be the one to turn on the other newbies and instead it was Ciera who jumped over to Tyson to let him know the plan to oust him.

I am actually split on this decision. With both decisions she would get to 3-4 if she sticks with that grouping with an actual chance to argue for the million. I think she had it in the back of her mind that Hayden and Caleb have been against her earlier in the season so there may have been some trust issues. But on the other hand Tyson is the biggest target left so I have a hard time seeing how siding with him is beneficial to her. Maybe she got worried since they approached Katie first for the plan and that spooked her to side with Tyson. I am really not sure but I think if I was there I would have went against Tyson and tried to blindside him.

Ciera flipping and being fairly obvious about it since she sat out an immunity challenge forced Hayden and Caleb to try to throw her under the bus. It was a great attempt but I think Tyson made the right decision to stick with Ciera but I do think they should have taken out Hayden over Caleb. I understand Caleb is more likable but Hayden is the better competitor at challenges so I think Hayden was the better choice to take out.

The other thing was Tyson blowing the idol. From the footage shown I felt it seemed obvious that he wasn’t the target at that moment but I do understand the need to play it and be sure. Past seasons have shown how stupid people look when they are voted out while holding an idol. I think Tyson has made enough stupid mistakes in his career to last a lifetime so happy he didn’t add to that legacy at this point.

I should have mentioned this earlier but it passed my mind. Xfinity has a Survivor Hall of Fame that they do every season the last few years and voting on the current class of inductees actually ends tomorrow. You can get more information here: Survivor Hall of Fame

I have voted and my picks were for Cochran, Malcolm, Yul Kwon and Todd Herzog.

Cochran: Because he has shown how a player can take his experience on the first season played and change his approach to the game and learn from his mistake to win his next time out.

Malcolm: He is just really likable and also has shown he is a great player on two seasons. I think his second time out was hurt by playing back to back and I do think we will see him on the show again.

Yul and Todd: Both only played once but they played such perfect games that they deserve to be recognized. Both were the best strategic players in there seasons and didn’t need second seasons to prove how great of players they are.

I will finish off with some videos. The first one if Vytas arriving at Ponderosa to meet with his brother Aras. The second one is a preview for next week and in advance it does contain major spoilers so if you do not want to know what happens do not click play. I watched not expecting what would be shown and I actually regret it but you can decide for yourself.