One thing that really jumped out at me after I put this entire episode into perspective after it ended is the concept of power.
The basic question that this game was originally designed to ask was “What will an average person do to win a million dollars?” How far will they go? What will they eat? Who will they betray and who will they protect?
But another question that episode 10 of SURVIVOR: PALAU asked quite obviously is “How will people react based on how much power they have?” Basically, how are reactions different between the people who have power and the people who don’t?
This isn’t a strange concept, and ties in with the famous million dollar question. But there are differences, and while we see the answer through various instances in Survivor history, it was very obvious in last week’s episode.
Take Stephenie. It has been no secret that she has quickly become my favorite Palau castaway, and you would not believe how anxious I got as the Tribal Council approached because I had a sinking feeling she was the one going home. It’s also no secret that she has no power in the game whatsoever. Yes, she’s strong-willed and she has a lot of heart and capability. She is by far the most deserving contestant out there right now because of everything that she has overcome to get to this point.
Unfortunately, as was made blatantly obvious last week, that wasn’t going to be enough. What’s going to be interesting now is going to be watching how Stephenie answers the power question. Last week, I think she got a little too comfortable. I think that, while she never forgot that she was the only Ulong amid the Koror wolves, she had been making friends with some of the other girls and supposedly had the backs of Tom, Katie, and Ian.
Then, right at Tribal Council, she was forced to look at her bleak position right in the face, and it was not pretty. Her tearful speech at Tribal Council ripped my heart out, and is the beginning of the answer to our question. On more than one occasion, we have seen Stephenie be placed in such bleak conditions that she cries. She has no power, and while she is a fighter, she can’t help but be overcome by the inevitability of what that means.
What I’m looking forward to is seeing the next episode. “I’ll show you how threatening I am.” Stephenie has felt the pressure of the torch snuffer like no one else before her, and she has been spared. Now, there’s no more getting too comfortable. Now, she is completely on her own, and the nails are about to be drawn. Just watch Stephenie’s transformation of perspective and you’ll have one answer to the power question. At first, she was growing a little too comfortable with her new Koror friendships; now, she sees what she’s up against as clear as crystal once again. Her back is against the wall, and she’s going to fight. I can’t wait to see it, and I hope she uses the opportunity Janu gave her to the fullest. If she can make it through this next Tribal Council, then she may very well gain the momentum she needs to carry herself to the top.
Now, let’s talk about Janu and the decision she made this week to lay down her torch. What were the causes, and what will the consequences be?
It’s been no mystery that Janu has been having problems with the wilderness aspect of this game. She’s been sick for several weeks now, and it made her crabby. She was in a very similar situation as Coby before his departure. In fact, she was just as sick of her tribe as he was before he was voted off.
Then something interesting happened. Janu was forced to go spend a night on an island by herself. This was an interesting twist to the game that was probably originally intended to have quite a different effect than it did. The intention was to face the “ultimate test of fear.” The person was supposed to react the way Stephenie did when she was by herself over on Ulong.
And what happened? Janu loved it. She was thrilled to be away from Koror and to have the island to herself.
As a matter of fact, it even apparently gave her quite a personal epiphany. By the way, did anyone else note the irony of Janu being the one who got sent to the island? The situation was so bizarre that it made me think of it in terms of a National Enquirer headline: “Vegas Showgirl Left to Fend for Herself in the Bush.”
But it was the bizarre situation in itself that I believe led to this epiphany for her. She was able to spend the night reflecting by herself and allowed to become at peace with herself. She learned that she could become self-sufficient and make her own fire. She decided that she had gotten everything out of this game that she was going to, and decided that the fact that she preferred to be isolated on an island by herself rather than being with Koror was enough to warrant her exit from the game.
Now, do I respect this? Of course not. I think the only reason that I’m not foaming at the mouth, however, like I did with Osten when he left the Pearl Islands is because her decision allowed Stephenie to stay in the game for at least three more days. And that’s it. But she is entitled to do what she wants to do, just like Osten was. We’ll move on with the show.
So, what will happen next? Well, before we can make a good projection, we need to take a look at something major I noticed this week, this time about the Koror hierarchy.
For all these many weeks, Tom has been the leader of Koror. Now, this week, we saw that this is no longer really the case. At this point, he really doesn’t seem to me to be anything other than a figurehead.
Now, I suspect this might be him playing smart, and if it is, kudos to him. But I’m wondering if anyone else noticed the significance of what happened last week as far as Stephenie went?
I mentioned earlier that one of the main reasons Stephenie probably felt more secure last week was because of her alliance with Tom, Katie, and Ian. That bond has now been severed, and I was actually surprised by how easily Tom was convinced to break that bond.
Who convinced him to break that bond? Gregg. Who is REALLY calling the shots in Koror and not allowing anyone else to see it? Gregg.
Gregg showed a real strong strategic side to himself last week. He had a confessional right before the Reward Challenge during which he shared his perspective on the game. He said that everyone else was there to fit into his plan to win a million dollars. If they didn’t fit into his plan, they were gone.
Cold? Yes. Callous? Absolutely. The right attitude to have when playing this game? You bet.
Gregg sees what a threat Stephenie is. He knows that she deserves to be there, which is exactly why he can’t allow her to reach the Final Two, because she’d win in a landslide vote. The beauty of his game so far has been that while he is seemingly calling the shots, he is not allowing anyone else to see that. If he keeps this up, he could easily walk away with the million bucks.
Here is what I think will happen next week. I love Stephenie, and know that she is completely capable of wiping the floor with these people. However, she needs Immunity. This female alliance we see in the previews? Experience has told that, with previews, it probably won’t happen.
Although I want to be an optimist and say that one of the alpha males will go home this week, I am going to have to be a pessimist and say that STEPHENIE takes the walk after days and days.
I hope I’m wrong. I really, really do.
“See” you next week!
