‘Survivor: Philippines’ review: Lisa Whelchel’s perplexing (but effective) game

We really have no idea if “Survivor: Philippines” could get any more intriguing if it tried, but at the moment we do know one thing: the game lost one person worth rooting for Wednesday night. As for a reason why, you can just blame one really stupid move, and a player who may go down even over Mr. Honor and Integrity Coach Wade as the most honest player in the history of the game.

You see, there is something acutely fascinating about Lisa Whelchel and the way that she is choosing to playing season. Nobody wants to get rid of her, and no one has even cast a vote for her. However, at the same time she is really controlling who goes home on a weekly basis, and ticking off a good many jury voters in the process.

The latest example of this? One Jonathan Penner, who deservedly went home after making the ridiculous blunder last week to not want to make a final four deal. Even if he didn’t want to make one, go ahead and lie about it! It may be true that he was upset about having Lisa write his name down twice, but this is a game where “outwit” is in the title. If you don’t following through with that, you’re in trouble and, regardless of how much we may like you as an onscreen personality, you deserve to head out the door. We can only hope that Carter goes next, mostly because he has contributed next to nothing to this game. His best moment during this episode (where he was forced to eat chicken feat and liver at the food auction) was apparently left on the cutting room floor.

The only reason we can think about why Lisa chose to stick with Skupin, Malcolm, and Denise is simple: loyalty. She, for whatever reason, is intent on showing that she is true to her word. However, wouldn’t this have been really hilarious if after Penner yelled that he was voting for Denise, Malcolm gave her his idol to play? The sad thing is that with this alliance set in stone, we may be in for a boring week soon as six likely becomes five.

Since we have not talked about it, and we can’t avoid it, we have to say that in a surprising move Abi-Maria Gomes really was the MVP of this week. First things first, the other castaways were idiotic in using up all of their money at the auction, especially the returning players. You had to know that there would be a clue for an immunity advantage in there, and as abysmal as Abi has been in these all season, she is still a young woman in pretty good shape. Since she got a free ticket to the final round, she had a chance to enter it rested and of course won immunity because of it.

In any other season, Abi would be in a great place. Unfortunately, she’s playing with someone this time around in Lisa who really doesn’t seem to care about winning. She may be able to outlast Carter, but after that her only hope is going to be pleading to Malcolm and Denise that she could be easier to beat in the end than Lisa and Skupin, but these two may feel so confident in their own chances that they would not even need to break their alliance. If everything holds firm, there’s really no question in our mind that Denise wins this game hands-down. She’s smart, strong, and has done enough to survive week after week. Plus, she has not made any enemies in the game except for maybe Abi, who is really just one vote.

Had Penner agreed to make the original alliance, do you think that he would still be on the island? Be sure to share your thoughts below, and you can read our pre-show rankings over here.

Photo: CBS