The Rise of Jesse, The Demise of Marcus

I missed the Sens game last night, but for good reason. I had a ticket for the Cabaret in Shawville, and once again, Mrs. Conrad's crew put on a wonderful show. The theme was "And Peace Ever After", with the chorus performing songs from the WWII era. I didn't know most of the songs they sang, but they were wonderful, and it was a great night! A special shout-out to Lindsay, Jared & Holly for lending their voices to the show, you all did a fantastic job.

When I got home, the first thing I checked on was the Sens score, and I was thrilled to hear that they defeated the Philly Flyers soundly on home ice, 4-1. While I haven't had the opportunity to watch many of the games recently, it seems as though they are finally starting to come around and gel together as a team. There has been praise for how they're paying more attention to team defence, and for how Alex Auld has stepped in and played strong after poor ol' Marty Gerber floundered (once again).

So I went downstairs to watch the highlights, and I was informed by Luke that my boy had scored. For a moment, I thought he meant Wade Redden, because he will always be "my boy". But then it clicked when I saw the replay of Jesse Winchester scoring his first NHL goal. The other day I spoke of the smile on Fisher's face when he scored his first of the season - well, last night, the smile on Jesse's face was just as sweet. (Even though Luke told me that he thinks Jesse has a crooked face. Like, c'mon, how can you have a 'crooked face'?) I was very happy for him, and I hope he has continued success in a Sens uniform. It'll take me a bit longer before I start considering him "my boy", but last night was definitely a step in the right direction for my relationship with Jesse!! (hee hee!!)

It would figure, on an evening that was going so well, that something would have to go wrong. That happened on Survivor last night. STUPID Survivor shake-ups that screw up alliances...I hate it!!

So yes. Jeff fooled them with a feast and had them thinking they were merging, but all he actually did was split them back up into two new tribes once again. Marcus ended up back at Kota with Bob and Susie from his alliance, and the wretched Crystal & Kenny. (The two of them may be my most hated Survivors ever...I loathe them). Former Kota members Randy, Charlie, and Corrinne headed back to Fang to hang with Matty & Sugar.

Marcus really ended up with the bum end of the deal by getting stuck with Susie on his new tribe. She is one of the most erratic, unpredictable players ever in the game. Marcus was nervous, and rightly so. I absolutely loved it when he broke his tribe down by saying there was him & Bob on one side, Crystal & Kenny on the other, with Susie playing "dizzy bat" in the middle. Quite an accurate description!!

Then Kota lost the Immunity Challenge, thanks to Matty out-lasting Bob balancing two poles on his hands. Props to Bob for hanging in as long as he did, and for a long time it looked like he was going to pull out the victory. Admirable for a man his age, up against a young guy like Matty.

I'm not sure what happened to the Fang plan to throw the challenge. Randy, Corrinne, and Charlie were afraid for Marcus' safety, due to him having the flighty Susie on his tribe, and they discussed losing purposely to save Marcus from the vote while they would gladly take the opportunity to vote Matty off their side. However, things didn't fall into place. Marcus bowed out of the challenge sooner than I think any of them expected, and they had no way of controlling Matty, who went on to win it for his tribe.

I thought Marcus might be OK with Crystal & Kenny after he found out that he and Crystal had an interesting connection - one of Marcus' best friends from back home is Crystal's cousin! He thought he had cemented a pretty good relationship with her based on that, but then he told her of his plans to oust Kenny, and Crystal went on the attack. She convinced Susie that Marcus couldn't promise her Final 3, and the next thing I knew, those dumbasses were voting him out.

I could've cried. Marcus is the best thing I've seen in this game since Colby, and it's complete bullsh*t that he's gone this early, while Crystal & Kenny, and espcially Susie, get to sit there with smug smirks on their faces. ARGHH...It makes me sooooooo mad!!

It made me think of a line that Mike Boogie used on Big Brother in Season 2, when some of his alliance members were getting evicted from the house. He said something like, "This is a joke! This game is losing all its stars and its being taken over by the f---ing EXTRAS!!"

That's exactly how I felt watching Marcus walk off last night with Crystal, Kenny, and Susie still sitting there. It's like the nasty people have risen up and taken control of the game, while the good, educated people are getting axed left and right. It doesn't make sense, and I only wish Marcus had somehow been dealt a better hand at the tribal shake-up.

Oh, and it's also too bad that Marcus orchestrated the whole "setting the Idol free" lunacy, when they took the hidden Immunity Idol that they found in the sand at their feast and tossed it into the ocean.

That stupid thing sure woulda come in handy at Tribal Council last night. I'm sure it's a decision he'll regret. For a long, long time.