Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains Knight of the Round Table Recap

Wow. I mean, have you guys ever seen a more brutal Survivor season? People are going down left and right. Jerri took a header into a turnbuckle during the reward challenge while James' knee comes unhinged...but we'll get to all that in just a moment.

First, let's chat about how things are going around camp. Let's face it, there's just no hope for our wayward Heroes. Where the tribe momentum and good vibe that we saw on episode one went, nobody knows, but it sure doesn't look like these guys are going to find it any time soon. With disappointing losses at both the reward and immunity challenges, morale at the Heroes camp is non-existent. The constant subversiveness of certain tribe members (ahem...read *J.T.*) is really causing a chasm to form in between the two sides of the Heroes with an unhappy an understandably uneasy Colby and Tom on one side and Rupert, Candice, Amanda on the other. J.T. seems unwilling to pledge allegiance to either side, though verbally he's pledged his vote to both sides, which will cost him big in the end if he's not careful. At least Cerie is gone. I hate watching someone control the game from the sidelines.

The Villains camp seems more harmonious on the outside, with Fearless Boston Rob at the helm, but life isn't as peachy as they might want you to think. There is a huge rift between Boston Rob and Russell. Neither of them has made any bones about the fact that they both want to be the alpha male at camp. The problem is that there is only room for one. Russell makes a trademark play and finds the hidden immunity idol, which he immediately shares with his only partner in crime (at least for the moment) Parvati. She is starting to see the value of her relationship with him. Of course, it doesn't hurt that she's not very well liked by the rest of the tribe either. Russell is a marked man, and he knows it. Finding the idol gives him an edge when he chooses to let Coach in on his little not-so-secret secret as well, in an attempt to recruit another loyal ally. In a strange and not so formal ceremony, Russell, the hobbit on crack, knights Coach and brings him into the now three member fold. Uh-oh Rob! Looks like Russell is gaining some ground after all.

J.T.'s continued waffling and non-allegiance is a complete about face from his aw-shucks, I just came here to play and make nice with everyone game from his previous season. While numerous decisions have been made in the name of "trying to get me as far in the game as I can go" I'm not convinced that his flip-flopping has as much to do with self preservation as it is a reflection of who he is and who he really wants to be. I want to compare this guy to Sayid in LOST. He WANTS to be a good guy, but deep down he's as snaky as they come. Maybe his inability to make lasting alliances with teammates stems from a deep rooted fear of commitment. Calling Dr. Phil... The only thing this guy has going for him so far is that he's a powerhouse in the challenges, and with James injured, Tom gone (Oops, sorry...didn't mean to let that cat out of the bag until the end), and Colby starting to lose his mind (thanks for pointing that out at the reward challenge, Jeff!) J.T. may be the only hope the Heroes team has of ever winning a challenge...hey, didn't they vote out Steph for losing all the challenges in her first season?

Tribal council with the Heroes left me scratching my head just a bit, though. The vote came down to an injured and somewhat jaded James and the all to familiar target, Tom with J.T. and Candice making up the swing vote. The suspense is killing me...and the winner of the all inclusive cruise off the Island is...Tom. James should have gone this round. He's got a terrible attitude which is killing what's left of any morale this teams' got left plus he's no longer a benefit to the challenges. What were they thinking?