Reality Show ALERT: William E. Lurie, the next post is entirely about "Survivor":
Jennifer: As is always the case, we see only bits and pieces of what's going on, and usually they're out of context. Rupert's comment was about "Ryan" -- Ryan was trying to form a voting bloc of five to oust Rupert and the rest of his tribe. At the time, there were 5 from one tribe and 4 from the other; Ryan, vastly unpopular among his own tribe, wanted to form an alliance/bloc with the smaller tribe and get rid of everyone in his old tribe (which, by the way, was hands-down the very best tribe of all the Survivor shows -- they exude teamwork, they play hard, they work hard and they win big).
Rupert and whoever he was talking to were discussing Ryan, and Rupert said, off the cuff, "I told him that if he ever betrayed me I'd kill him." Well, Rupert isn't going to kill, or even hurt, anyone. It's just talk. And note that everyone voted for Ryan -- the other tribe didn't trust him anymore than his own tribe. His offer was pretty good, too....it was a clear way of getting rid of the strong players -- the water bearers, the food providers. At the end, of course, would be a few very tired, skinny, average schmoes limping about in exhaustion, unable to win any competition except by default.
CBS, on the other hand, wants nothing more than to maintain interest in the show. When they cut it, they do their best to make you think things are going to go a different way than they have been going (and thus far, they haven't gone any way other than the way they went from the beginning -- the strong survive).
I cannot fathom what is coming next week -- Lil, rightly saying "I'm such a bitch" (we all have vindictiveness at our disposal, but we shouldn't be wearing Scouting uniforms when we display these traits), may be on her way out.
There's never been a "rumor" about "Survivor" that was true or founded in anything real....yet. It's always just Internet gossip founded on nothing but titillation.
I think what we saw in the competition was a true indication of the worth/esteem in which Rupert is held by the combined tribe. You may dislike him, but they obviously don't.
Except for evil John...the most worthless of all of them. His chit is past due.