The Eyes—Survivor Vanuatu Wrap-Up

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Ladies and gentlemen, SURVIVOR: VANUATU has officially come to an end! As if you hadn’t heard already.

As unbelievable as it seems, a male won the game. Leading up to it, everyone was predicting that Chris had a good shot with the latest shake-up and everything, but I wonder if anyone stopped to ponder what that would really mean. I know I didn’t until it was all over with.

For the first time in Survivor history, the females almost completely won it. A full-fledged female alliance almost made a Final Six of all women”¦they were just one Tribal Council away from success.

And a man won.

Think about that for a second. We all knew that the female alliance crumbled when Leann got voted out. But it didn’t just crumble. It was completely destroyed.

So kudos to Chris. That is quite an accomplishment. He played an amazing game, and is a very deserving winner. He sucked in the very first challenge, and instead of bemoaning his fate as the first person voted off engineered an alliance to save his butt. Then he helped Twila and Scout dismantle the female alliance that had eliminated four men in a row, slipped through the cracks, and won by a 5-2 Jury vote.

He played the game very well, I don’t think that’s a question. This season is proof that females just can not work together efficiently in a game like this where trust is a major issue. They’re far too untrusting and paranoid of each other! These women in this game were at each othe’s throats since day 2, split along age lines. I’m actually amazed, looking back over the season, that their alliance stayed strong for as long as it did.

I want to take a minute out and look, though, at Twila’s game. I strongly feel that the Jury did not give her full credit for the game she played.

Here are some highlights as I gathered them:

~ She was honest. She told you the truth even when you didn’t want to hear it. That is usually a hindrance in this game, and she made it to the Final Two. How could she not have played well just based on that?

~ She was the one who actually dismantled the female alliance. She changed the course of the game. Chris just HELPED. Twila was the one who actually did it.

~ Most importantly, and I was kind of sad no one ever realized this including Twila, but she voted correctly at every single TC she attended. The person she voted for is the person who ended up leaving that night. Chris can’t say that. It’s just a reflection on how Twila was always on the up-and-up as far as alliances go.

So, in terms of overall strategy, I think Twila was better than Chris throughout the game. He was more of a reactor, and was great at making up for bad positions. That’s what ended up getting the million”¦.just look at the final TC, because I believe it was the final TC that, more than ever, determined the results of this game.

And when I say that, I’m honing in on the players’ response to the Jury. It was reflective of their entire games, and decided the million.

Twila was always very blunt, that’s just who she is. And she couldn’t turn that off when she was answering the Jury’s questions. You can’t run away from yourself, especially not after having lived out there in those conditions for 39 days, and 5 of the Jury members just didn’t respect that at the time. So, Twila is digging herself a hole to China and Chris is sitting there and doing what he did best the entire 39 days”¦adapt, adjust, and react. He sucked up when he needed to, like to Julie and Eliza, and said what needed to be said to soothe a juro’s anger.

You can’t win without the Jury, and unfortunately, that’s a fact that too many F2 players often overlook, both in the Final TC and while they’re voting these people off.

You need to know your Jury. You need to know before you stab someone in the back how they may take it on the Jury, and try to adapt accordingly. You need to listen to the tone of their voices during the final vote and adjust and say whatever you need to say to try and appease them.

It’s what cost people like Twila from this season, Boston Rob from All-Stars, Clay from Thailand, and Neleh from Marquesas the million dollars. All those people failed to recognize what the Jury wanted to hear, and didn’t give it”¦.sometimes also blowing it during Jury formation, as well, Boston Rob being a prime example.

So, here’s my biggest tip for all future players of this game: KNOW YOUR JURY. Even if it means swallowing your pride. When you’re in that Final Two, it’s not about pride. It’s about getting enough votes to win a million dollars. So suck up if that’s what they want. Kiss their butts and stroke their egos. Say what they want to hear”¦.their tone of voice should give you a clue.

So, all in all, a very entertaining season of SURVIVOR. A great location, some interesting people, great twists, an awesome F2 and final TC, and a deserving winner. What more can you ask for?

Now it will soon be time for the tenth edition, in Palau. 20 people this time, I guess. I can’t wait, it should be fun! I’ll, of course, be here to write all about it as soon as the cast is announced.

In the meantime, however, now that we are in the official “off-season,” I shall be returning every Thursday to write about another of my favorite TV shows, “Everybody Loves Raymond.” I hope you’ll stick around for that, because it’s an awesome sitcom that I’m looking forward to writing some columns about. If not, I hope I’ll see you back here for my analysis of SURVIVOR: PALAU.

I’ll “see” you next week!