I get a little irritated with balancing challenges when they bring them in at the end of the game. Women, because of their lower centers of gravity, have an inherent advantage in these challenges. It was hardly the upset of the century when Andrea beat three guys at a balancing challenge. In fact, I predicted that outcome the second I saw what the challenge would be.
If the three girls had booted Rob when they had the chance, they would have had the game. I don’t understand why they didn’t.
Rob showed Ashely and Natalie his HII after the merge. That pretty much killed whatever minor motivation they had to make a big move.
If he showed it at the merge, there was plenty of time to try and blindside him. Instead they left it until the day he HAD to use it, throw up their hands and say we can’t vote him out, he’s gonna use the idol". Pathetic.
They weren’t the only ones who appeared to be sleepwalking through the season… why didn’t Probst ask some pointed questions about why they didn’t play the idol, or ask who the jury would have voted for had Rob taken Ashley or Grant instead of Natalie or Philip.
Exactly. Having the HII isn’t a guarantee – if you can convince the HII-Holder that he’s safe, and then blindside him. However, that requires more brain cells than Rob’s alliance had put together.
I wonder if Ralph’s completely ridiculous throw-away vote for “Phile” made the difference between 2nd-place and 3rd-place money.
If this season is like the others, about $15,000. We don’t know for sure, but All-Stars had a pay-out of $100,000 for 2nd and $85,000 for 3rd. Still a nice chunk of change for a 19 year old dancer.
The balance challenges advantage the women, strength ones advantage the men, and the puzzles advantage Rob. I guess a coin flipping competition would have been fair? 
I wonder if that was Natalie’s (or any of a dozen other contestants from any other season) thinking: I’m no good at challenges, skulduggery or the social game. But I can get $85k just by riding somebody’s coattails. Hell yeah, sign me up!
By some unfathomable logic, Rob had everyone believing that he had no chance of winning and they wanted to sit next to him at the end. I think it’s a variation of Coach Jimmy’s strategy last time. Don’t vote me out, no one will vote for me to win.
At first I thought Rob had exposed a flaw in the game. That if you played it right it’s very boring. But I was wrong. It’s not that Rob played brilliantly, though he did, it’s that the rest of them played so stupidly. Like Russel in seasons’ past, they thought getting to the end was the ultimate goal.
David at the final tribal was exactly what I was thinking. Both Philip and Nat’s opening remarks were how Rob took them to the end. Did they think that was a winning strategy?
Yeah, but they never have strength challenges in these end-game situations, because they would be unfair to the women. Yet there is no reluctance to use balancing challenges which are unfair to men.
There are other options. Games of accuracy, puzzles, and memory challenges, to name a few.
I think when you have to balance your own weight, that favors women (especially the smaller, thinner ones), but this challenge was a little different.
I was surprised that the chick (can’t remember which one was close, but the one who kind of looks like the Borg Queen) didn’t win the F4 IC. I thought she had all the words right, but just didn’t put them together. Maybe that was some trick editing.
I think they should’ve done a straight up old school endurance challenge like they used to use for the Final 3 challenge. No balancing or strength, just pure will. Would’ve been great for the last RI challenge.
The Final 5 Immunity challenge (balance and arrange tiles 1-100) would have been better if it took some brains to arrange the tiles. As I said upthread, Roman Numerals would have been awesome.
the Final IC should have had closed booths rather than open platform to work on. It looked like Rob might have got some help from Ashley.
The preview for next season said, “Two returning players looking for redemption” - so I’d put 90% odds that Matt will be one of those players. If Russell’s the other one, I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch.
I gotta say, if Matt returns and ends up back at RI, I will laugh my ass off.
Russell just landed an A&E series called “Flipped.”
Yeah, that would almost be worth it. 
QFT.
Cthulhu loves you, Matt. Embrace it.
Oh, Russell.
Just more evidence of his wonderful business sense, trying to start a houseflipping business in this particular housing market. And it’s going to be on TV so the whole country can watch him fall on his face…