I watched this week’s episode of Survivor with my 19-year-old college student brother, a fervent hater of all reality TV. He was crashing at my place last Thursday and was therefore at the mercy of my house rules, one of which is that Thursday night is reserved for Survivor and The Apprentice, no exceptions. He must have been desperate to avoid doing homework, because he sat through the entire show with me, asking questions and making comments. He was most curious about was the exact qualities of a winning player and wanted me to list off the traits that previous winners had in common. I explained to him that if one based such a list solely on the personalities and physical strengths of these people, many characteristics would cancel each other out. For example, Richard Hatch was aggressive and judgmental, while Ethan Zohn was low-key and introspective. Brian Heidik and Amber Brkich formed tight core alliances at the beginning of their games and cut the coattail riders lose as they went, but Vecepia Towery and Sandra Diaz-Twine flip-flopped with their loyalties in acts of self-preservation. Tina Wesson was everyone’s best friend and Jenna Morasca reconstructed a high school social hierarchy, knocking the nerds of the game off her lunch table.
I told my brother that, although qualities like intelligence and good people skills are always in asset in the game, the success of most winners can be attributed to advantageous combinations of team members. A survivor who is in with the right group tends to have more staying power. Just what is the right group? That really depends. In some cases, it consists of people who have a lot in common and genuinely like one another, such as the Rotu “love” tribe back in the Marquesas. In other circumstances, the players can’t stand one another but share a common goal of eliminating the strongest people, as the Drake tribe did in the Pearl Islands. Sometimes it’s the young against the old, the women versus the men, or the fit against the flabby. One of the most intriguing aspects of Survivor is exactly how the contestants choose to divide themselves in the game.
John’s ejection this week showed a classic example of a player who fell victim to an unfavorable grouping. Sigh. I had such high hopes for young John. After his impressive conduct during his visit to Yasur a few weeks back, I was certain that we had a good little strategist on our hands. Unfortunately, I think our beloved mechanical bull operator was cast in the wrong season. Had he been kicking it in the Amazon with Alex, Jenna, Robasu, and Heidi, he would probably have fared much better. John’s love of naps put him in the doghouse with the rest of Lopevi, a team full of hard workers. If three other members of Lopevi had been joining him for those snooze sessions, that behavior wouldn’t have been a problem. John painted himself into a corner at tribal council by drawing attention to his habits, saying that his only criticism of Twila was that she didn’t relax enough. Sorry, John, but Twila fits in with this crowd a lot better than you. But if the tables were turned and Twila’s wood-chopping ways set her in the minority, she probably would have been sent packing this week.
If my observations about fortunate combinations hold merit, then Rory is definitely in a most curious position. His infiltration into the bonds of sisterhood over at Yasur is truly intriguing to watch. The fact that he has survived two rounds of elimination is a testament to his skills as a player. However, even the most adept survivors can go down if they are not in cahoots with the right people (remember Rob Cesternino’s early good-bye in All-Stars?). Rory’s conversation with Ami and Leann about their determination to hold the all-female alliance was very telling. Ami talks a big game, going on and on about how it’s the girls versus the guys and that no alliance of women has ever stayed together over the course of a game (which was interesting, considering the fact that CBS overtly discourages players from referring to other seasons of Survivor). But her voice sounded a bit shaky as she responded to Rory’s confrontation. And now she’s “number one on [Rory’s] hit list.” I can’t wait to see if Rory is actually able to weasel his way into Yasur far enough to take her down. I hope so.
Julie’s got some serious game going on. Her lie to Twila about being promised the final four from Sarge was a risk, but I have a feeling it will pay off later. It’s obvious that Twila would be more likely to side with the men in a vote and kick Julie off simply because she’s a babe. However, I think Julie is versatile enough to giggle and braid hair at Yasur and belch over beers with Lopevi. And I take back what I said about her being this season’s Darrah. She’s talking more now, and her teeth are a lot smaller.
Sarge was talking in circles this week. Before the immunity challenge, he said that Lopevi was going to flat-out kick Yasur’s ass in the slingshot competition. But in the same breath, he conceded that “the ladies of Yasur, plus one” (as Rory put it) could really give Lopevi “a run for [their] money.” What’s it going to be, big boy? Sarge is a very likeable leader, but he needs to get his story straight.
The preview for the next show hinted at a merge or a mix-up of some kind. If that happens, I think Ami is in big barista trouble. Her view of the game is way too simplistic. After Lopevi lost, she said that although she was happy her team won, “It hurt to know that either Julie or Twila are going home tonight.” Um, if it’s still truly the men against the women, then how come you convinced three of your tribe mates to kick Lisa out last week? And why would she assume that the men of Lopevi were sticking together? And further, why would she so drastically underestimate Julie and Twila’s abilities to stay in the game? Her attitude is actually very anti-girl in a lot of ways.
I think the girl power award should go to Scout, Survivor’s first openly lesbian player. Reading Ami’s bio on the CBS website, I also see that she has been dating someone named Crissy for three years, although it’s certainly her choice to talk about it on-camera or not. I admire Scout, not only because I think she’s a beautiful person, but also because she’s getting through this game with her excellent people skills. She’s contributed almost nothing to the physical challenges so far, but everyone likes and respects her too much to seriously consider kicking her out. Again, I think that this is a case of a good person living with the right group. How would she fare at Lopevi? Well, certainly the ejections thus far have been based on physical prowess rather than amiability, as Chris, Mr. Sucky Balance, could tell us. So really, I don’t see how Scout can lose. I wouldn’t pin a million dollars on her just yet, but I think she’ll stick around a while longer.
