The big question of the hour in Guatemala is whether or not Yaxha has made the right choices in the past two weeks.
As Jeff Probst himself pointed out, it is quickly becoming blatantly obvious that they are making their voting decisions based on physical strength.
But are they? I mean, were Morgan and Brianna more physically useless than Lydia, who came up twice, or last week, Amy, who had a sprained ankle?
Well, the topic is open for debate, but allow me for the moment to highlight some of the points from both sides:
MORGAN/BRIANNA SHOULD HAVE BEEN KEPT AROUND
~ Lydia is the oldest woman they have, and she contributes nothing to our tribe except for work around camp. Frankly, we could do without her because we could compensate for her. We need more strength for the challenges.
~ Amy had a sprained ankle, so there was no real reason to vote Brianna out when Amy would be trouble in physical challenges with that ailment.
MORGAN/BRIANNA DESERVED WHAT THEY GOT
~ Lydia is an invaluable asset around camp, much more than lazy Morgan.
~ Amy has a lot of heart and strength, and she will be able to overcome her sprained ankle. It’s no real reason to vote her off, especially when Brianna was sitting out there uselessly on the basketball court.
It’s definitely an issue of point/counterpoint. It is curious, though, that even though the tribe is claiming they care the most about the challenges that they would keep someone with a sprained ankle.
With that being said, so I think it was unfair to vote Brianna out? Absolutely not. I do think she should have been voted off, especially since I could not believe she was just standing there during the Immunity Challenge. Stephenie was trapped, desperately looking for an opening. Even Lydia, the person who has been targeted twice in a row, was desperately doing whatever she could to reach her and help. What was Brianna doing? Standing there at the other end.
But, nevertheless, it is an interesting debate to have, and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what side I’m on. Is Yaxha screwed? Way too early to tell. After all, history hasn’t been written yet.
However, I do think it’s curious that in the past few seasons, we have seen examples of tribal domination. Palau was obviously an extreme case. But we saw it in Vanuatu with the females. We saw it in All-Stars with Chapera. We saw it in Pearl Islands with Drake. You’ll notice that as we go up that scale, the examples of domination become more and more severe. At one end, you have Drake, who dominated for most of the tribal half and then lost it when they threw a challenge and gave Morgan a chance to catch up. At the other end, you have Koror, which prevented Ulong from winning one lousy Immunity Challenge.
Is Yaxha starting to head down the same path as Ulong? The saving grace here is that the challenges, no matter how you look at it, have been close. Yaxha is not trailing by any means. They may not be winning as much, but for the most part, they are definitely holding their own in the challenges, usually coming just shy of a victory themselves.
But what may lead us to suspect Yaxha is heading down a dangerous path? After all, it has only been two in a row as far as Tribal Council is concerned. You may be saying, “Please, they are far from out, it’s too early to tell,” and as I stated above, I agree with you. However, the trend as of late, as I mentioned, has been leaning towards a one-tribe domination scenario.
Yaxha touted their unity in the beginning. They were, according to them, the most unified tribal family you ever could see. They won the first Immunity Challenge, they were a diverse group, they had it made. So, what happened? Did they get cocky? Perhaps.
I think the main reason tribes have been suffering more and more as the seasons go on is because the players within have become so savvy that, by this point, they are playing for themselves when they should be playing for the team. Gary and Stephenie are in charge of Yaxha, and Brian is in there, too, I believe. So is Amy, otherwise she would have likely been voted off. Lydia also has some friends in high places, otherwise she would not have been spared twice. They claim to be interested in the security of the tribe, and I’m sure they are. But, more than that, they are looking out for themselves.
They have their alliance set, and they will run over whoever they have to in order to keep their ALLIANCE intact. THAT is the problem. We have seen it before, and we are starting to see it again.
This, of course, spells trouble for a few people on Yaxha, namely, the people on the outside looking in. I’m not 100% sure where Rafe is within the power structure, but I can almost guarantee that Jamie is on the outside. Frankly, I don’t think he has much time left. He seems awfully naïve. His comments about Brianna seemed mean, and actually pretty dumb. Before Morgan was voted out, he set his sights right on Stephenie, which is questionable, because she is obviously one of the strongest that they have, and I’m wondering how much it is known that she and Gary are the leaders.
So, I think Jamie is doomed. I am going to make him my pick for the boot this week because I think Yaxha will lose again, because even though it is close most of the time, Nakum seems to really be working together more. They have been having some physical problems, but it seems that they may even be recovering.
I am looking forward to seeing how this plays out. I hope Yaxha can pull it together, and do it soon, otherwise, they may become the next Ulong.
BOOT PICK FOR EPISODE 4: Jamie
SOLE SURVIVOR: Brian
“See” you next week!
