It might not have been Sash's plan, per se, to get the two groups at each other's throats - heck, the editing claimed this week that they already were, which is about the 20th time this season that we've had a "tight-knit" alliance basically come out of the blue - but it was the result. I think that the "even footing" part was a total load of BS on Sash's part, though. He wouldn't have blackmailed Marty for the idol in the first place if that was actually the case. Sash is a smart player; not the genius he claims to be, but smart enough to recognize last week and this that he was in a precarious position. His grand show with the idol served to get the others to want him without any repurcussions of been booting - if that wasn't preplanned, then he lucked into one of the more brilliant usages of the HII in the show's history. He got Chase and Holly to promise him the moon and the stars for his vote going forward (which is what the other guys should have done, but then again they'd have needed to have seen the show before to do so), which is exactly what he needed to net and could bite them in the butt should they renege on their word by voting him out pre-F3.

On the topic of the Sash blindside, it would have worked out fine if this was a cast of competent people. Assume if you will that Sash had not made his big idol show and Fabio won the IC, but Sash still propped himself up as the swing, leading all parties to blindside him. While there would be a 3-3 split next week, Chase's alliance would hold a massive advantage. Not only was it clear that Benry thought that he and Chase were really tight, but Chase has NaOnka's idol to the knowledge of, it appears, no one. The guys are going to tell Chase for whom they are voting, allowing Chase to blindside everyone at TC by giving the HII to Jane or Holly.