After Boston Rob's blindside in Episode 7, Heroes vs. Villains drags out the pre-merge for a couple more episodes, but that pays off with the Heroes not really having anything to do, because they keep winning, which leads JT to come up with what the show itself trumpets as "one of the dumbest moves in Survivor history" in Episode 8's "Next time on..." preview. And that, of course, sets up the Villains for one of the most entertaining merge Tribal Councils in the show's entire run.

It's also the time of one of Russell Hantz's more accurate reads of the entire game. Early on in Episode 10's Tribal he says: "Tonight's vote WILL dictate the rest of the game" (after Probst asks him that exact question). The best part of that is Russell is technically right, but he's also completely ignorant of what's about to happen. He thinks Parvati is in danger, and has already handed off his idol (JT's idol) to her in camp. But Parvati is pretty sure, based on Amanda insisting she needs to play her idol for herself, that she's not the actual target, so she uses those two idols to protect the only other two Villains targets. And all of a sudden, boom! JT is gone, felled by his own idol. The idol that was supposed to be for the Heroes, taking out a Villain at the merge. Whoops.

And so, let the endgame(s) begin.

The double-idol Tribal

Entering Episode 10, the Heroes were on pins and needles, hoping that Russell was still in the game, and that he'd been saved by JT's idol, as instructed. Having been told they were merging, they were disappointed to see Parvati (the preferred target of JT's idol) leading the Villains into Heroes camp, but then relieved (and maybe a bit concerned) that Russell was also still there. From there, Russell concocted a story where he and Parvati had both played idols the previous Tribal, and Courtney had gone on the revote. He told this story to JT and Rupert, who ate it up. But then Sandra contradicted that tale in a private conversation with Rupert, which set off alarm bells.

Rupert, of all people, is the voice of reason. He tries to talk sense into the Heroes, but JT isn't having it. JT assures us Russell is a "good-ol' country boy," so he couldn't possibly be lying, q.e.d. Buuuut ... Amanda also learned that Parvati still has an idol, which also contradicts Russell's story.

It's unclear to what degree the Heroes compared notes, if at all, and maybe this was their downfall. Did they *all* know Parvati had an idol, or was it just Amanda? Did Amanda know Russell had claimed Parvati had played her idol? If the Heroes were all up to speed, then they should have known Russell was lying, and they should have just dumped on him.

There was obviously a risk in doing that, though, because at least until shortly before Tribal, he still had JT's idol, and they also couldn't be sure the one Parvati allegedly had wasn't just JT's one (although, again, Russell's story implies there are two). If they were under the impression Parvati had one, and was going to play it, they probably have predicted that Russell would play his after Parvati played hers.

So really, the Heroes best plan of attack for this problem, as described by Candice, was the only counter-move available to them: piling their votes on Jerri or Sandra, as the people Russell was least likely to give an idol to. But there's another problem: With two idols, that was extremely unlikely to work. (Thanks, JT!)

Beyond the two-idol situation, Amanda did the Heroes no favors in going overboard in trying to convince Parvati to play her idol for herself. That told Parvati that the Heroes were almost certainly *not* voting Parvati. So: (1) Parvati could be reasonably sure that the Heroes weren't voting for Russell, because they'd just given him an idol, and he'd been pretending to be with them. This was a test vote. (2) They couldn't vote for Danielle. And (3) Parvati was sure they weren't voting for her. That left just two targets, and she had two idols. Game over, Heroes. (There was also a minute chance that Russell was being straight with them, and was planning to vote Parvati, in which case, they might have pulled off a 5-4-1 victory, assuming they guessed correctly where the idols were going. But they didn't, and Russell was also lying.)

Side note: For all the season-long focus on the Parvati-Amanda connection from S16: Micronesia, there has not been a single mention (except Probst mentioning they both had previously done "Get a Grip") that in Parvati's first season, S13: Cook Islands, she and Candice were tribemates for almost the entire game, and they were in an alliance together! Did they even talk to each other this season? (Probably!) Just a weird omission. Did Candice *also* try to convince Parvati to play her idol? Did she know Parvati had one? So many questions.

Side note, the second: The execution of the vote reveal was perfect. Production clearly knew that Parvati was planning to play at least one idol for someone else that night, which is why the five ballots for Jerri were all pulled out of the urn first. That order ups the tension, as the five Heroes squirm uncomfortably, watching their votes disappear in a puff of smoke, and waiting to see (as Zara said in AU: Brains v Brawn II) "Who did those idiots vote for?" when Probst finally runs out of Jerri votes.

Side note III: Josh Kettles and Bryan Teresi of the Future Past Survivor podcast have talked a lot about using the "Shot with an Idol Chaser" tactic (playing your Shot in the Dark, turning around to gauge the reaction, then playing your idol if you think you need to), which they had proposed before Rachel LaMont did this in Survivor 47. It's not clear if this is what Parvati was doing (intentionally, at least) as she was doling out her idols, but she very well could have been. Call it "Idol with an Idol Chaser," I guess. When she hands the first idol to Sandra, JT and Colby break out with huge grins. And when she follows that by giving one to Jerri ... JT mutters "Damn it" to himself, Colby's grin turns to a scowl, and Rupert whispers "I knew we couldn't trust that [fill in your favorite fun swear word that was bleeped]." A Survivor player may never have such an opportunity again, but if they do: the sequential handout, with an evaluative pause in between, is clearly the way to go.

The Heroes: The bizarro Aitu Four

It's fascinating that everything the plucky underdog Heroes Five do after the Tyson/James boot episode up to the merge is essentially the same story as the plucky underdog Aitu Four in S13: Cook Islands. And Candice is a key figure in both (by leaving Aitu, by being a Hero)! More importantly, there is a very clear contrast in whether the audience is meant to root for each of these sets of underdogs, which is why the Heroes are the bizarro Aitu Four.

The basic mechanics of the storyline are very much the same: After Penner and Candice mutiny from Aitu over to Raro in Cook Islands, the remaining Aitus are massively outnumbered, yet they keep winning. So do the post-James-boot Heroes. They bond on rewards, despite prior mistrust. They're united and efficient, and keep winning and winning, all the way to a much-delayed merge, as people from the opposing tribe start filling up the jury seats. The merge feels like it may never get here, but they stay undefeated.

And yet, the tone of it all is very much the opposite across these two seasons. We're meant to root for Aitu. We learn their touching backstories on a reward. They build each other up. The Heroes, in contrast, don't particularly like each other (despite Amanda and Rupert both claiming "I love you guys!" after they had a beer and some pizza). Candice thinks JT is "the slimiest guy out here," and tries to get Amanda on board with opposing him. Stuffy old Colby is a dead man walking if they ever lose immunity. Rupert is convinced every viewer is clamoring to displace him from his perch as Rupert's #1 fan, and would happily take part in the competition, but alas he has a broken toe. It's amazing that a group that includes Colby and Rupert, two of the most popular Survivor players ever, is the group we're supposed to root against, but here we are. Maybe the show just really does hate Candice, and wants to see her suffer?

Also, clearly, the fates of the two groups are very different. The Aitu Four are the final four in Cook Islands. The Heroes Five are finally wiped out at final five. The Aitu Four have an all-powerful super-idol backing them up. JT gives away the Heroes idol to the opposing tribe, so the Heroes effectively hit the merge with -1 idols. Most likely, this divergent set of outcomes is what mainly drives the difference in edit tone. Who's going to be happy when the lovable underdogs all lose to the evil jerks that outnumbered them? Best make those underdogs significantly less lovable.

Welcome to the season, Sandra

It took Boston Rob being voted out to get there, but in Episode 8, we finally got to see Sandra playing the game, as she baited Russell into voting out Coach, saving herself and Courtney for one more round.

There isn't much she can do to save Courtney the next round, but in Episode 10, the merge presents new possibilities. She directly undermines Russell's lies in a brief conversation with Rupert, and tips him off that Russell's story about himself and Parvati both playing idols at the previous Tribal was not true. That sets in motion the Heroes telling Russell they're voting for Parvati, then actually voting for someone else (Jerri), to test him. Which could have worked, if Russell had just held on to JT's idol as they expected, and nobly played it for Parvati at Tribal. But he didn't. Sandra gave them the ammunition for that test, it just didn't work out for them.

Going forward, Sandra ("I don't forgive and I don't forget") still wants to take out the main remaining Villains, and work with at least some of the Heroes. She doesn't end up accomplishing that, but she's one of the very few players this season who's willing to cross original tribe lines to work with other people (apart from the Heroes who were hoping to work with Russell). She's playing a lot more actively than she did in S7: Pearl Islands, and she's going to end up in the final three against much better players than Lil Morris. It's good we're finally seeing her.

Welcome to the season, Parvati

Much as with Sandra being seen as Boston Rob's loyal soldier for most of the pre-merge, Parvati had largely been Russell's sidekick. But she really starts playing her own game in Episode 9, as she finds an idol clue at the reward, then she and Danielle quickly dig the idol up back at camp ... but don't tell Russell about it.

This has huge ramifications in the big double-idol play in Ep10. For one, despite Parvati stepping down in "Get a Grip" to let Danielle win the first individual immunity (which the Heroes immediately flag as suspicious), Russell is none the wiser, and still feels compelled to save Parvati with his (JT's) idol, and hands it over to her in camp. That gives her free rein to play it however she wants, which she does, to spectacular effect.

Another good marker for Parvati's acumen is she's acutely aware that none of the Heroes want to talk to her at the merge, as we see her tell Danielle. That combined with JT's letter explicitly telling Russell to vote her out should put her on edge. But despite those red flags, she can still read Amanda well enough to be convinced that Amanda is lying to her about Parvati being the merge target. (Note that Amanda does the same looking-away-while-lying thing that JT did earlier in the season. She also looks extremely uncomfortable and worried, where she didn't in her earlier talk with Parvati.)

All of which is to say: In just this last couple of episodes (9-10), Parvati is also playing a much more active social-strategic game than in her previous appearance (which, like Sandra, she won). Parvati was largely a follower in S16: Micronesia, where Cirie did almost all the strategic work. So it's nice to see Parvati stepping up her game here. Apparently she decided if everyone was going to see her as a big threat anyway, she might as well be one.

Side notes: There was a lot of Parvati content cut from the pre-merge. She's clearly close with Danielle, but we really only learn about that as she's sharing her idol clue with Danielle. Similarly, we only learn that Parvati and Courtney are also close when Parvati makes a last-ditch effort to save Courtney in Ep9, and pin the target on Sandra instead. I guess it's fine that Parvati's not the center of attention, since she doesn't win. But especially the Courtney friendship (and Courtney's friendship with Sandra for that matter) might have made the Villains pre-merge content a little richer if we'd had longer episodes, or just slightly less Hantz.

Russell takes a tumble

Despite doing some of his best acting in baiting JT into giving him idol in Episode 9, Russell came out of the merge Tribal with his power substantially diminished. Most importantly, in the eyes of the jury (and the audience), the double-idol play was Parvati's move. There was no reason for him to hand over JT's idol before Tribal, and if he'd simply done it the same way he did when he idoled out Tyson - making a big show of walking up to Probst, then changing his mind and handing the idol over to Parvati in front of everyone - he might have been able to take partial credit. (Maybe not, because Parvati would then have handed it off and still taken credit, and also Courtney groaned something to Coach about "if that troll" plays an idol when Probst called for idols.)

But it's hard to overstate how little actual input Russell had in what actually happened. He was convinced (mainly because he's an egomaniac) that he alone had the correct read of the Heroes' plans, and that they were voting for Parvati. That's because the Heroes were intentionally feeding him that lie. But he was so sure he knew what was going on, he handed JT's idol to Parvati in camp ... and then she did not do what he expected her to do with it. Parvati herself did the legwork in figuring out the Heroes were not actually voting for her. Russell was sure they were. No wonder he's a bit mad at her after JT's torch is snuffed - he's been shown up.

The numbers are still tight enough that the Villains more or less have to work together for a few more votes, but the cracks are beginning to form in the Villains alliance. Sandra is happy to work against all of them. Parvati is happy to show up Russell in front of the jury. Danielle is also present, as is Jerri. (Although to be fair, Jerri did give us the title quote, for which we are grateful.)

The land of tepid takes

- Oh, *now* it's a problem - Danielle is mad after the Ep8 RC loss that Sandra and Courtney sat out, because it means they will have to compete in the IC. (Which was the same thing the Villains stupidly did in Ep7.) But then, not only do the Villains not strategically tank a matchup by pairing Courtney and Sandra (to maximize their chances of winning the other two bouts), but Danielle, who is probably the best all-around female athlete on the Villains, SITS OUT. After the challenge, she whines in confessional, "I want Courtney gone! I'm a competitor, I hate losing." Danielle threw two gutterballs in the RC, then sat out of the IC. You would think a "competitor" would ... I dunno, what's the word? Oh yeah: Compete. (Maybe it's fine that we missed almost all of Danielle's "insights" over the first seven episodes.)

- Bring it back - Courtney, voting out Coach: "You're a fricking lunatic, and I'm just glad I don't have to be with you any more. Nice feather in your hair." I really, really miss voting booth confessionals like this.

- This seems familiar - At the end of Ep9, before the Villains head to Tribal, we see Russell and Parvati laughing at JT's letter. Then Danielle and Jerri are also there. Danielle reacts to the idol, but we don't hear much discussion, especially from Jerri (except she asks, "So what, we're voting Sandra off now?"). That's probably because that same scene is in Ep10, as the Villains prepare to leave for the merge, and the Villains are coming up with a cover story for what happened at the previous Tribal. Danielle tells people to shush, because they think Sandra could be spying on them (she was, but that implies Courtney was already gone). So it's unclear, at least to me: What episode was this scene actually from? Did Russell really not tell any of his alliance members about JT's idol until Episode 10, after Courtney was already voted out? Good call on Parvati's part in keeping the second idol secret from him, if so.

- The pirate may have a point - Rupert to JT, Candice, and Amanda, the day after the Villains arrive and Sandra and Russell give him conflicting accounts of the Ep9 Villains' Tribal: "You have faith in Russell. Don't trust him. He's on the Villains side for a reason!" JT's idol scheme wasn't all that dumb originally, but if Rupert is the voice of reason once doubts emerge ... Rupert?! It's not clear who came up with the last-minute vote-switch tactic, but we do see Rupert at least repeat it. Again, Rupert?! (Although JT chucking about Rupert's strategic inadequacy right after this is truly the icing on the cake.)