I want to dive right away this week into a discussion on clearly the most controversial topic of SURVIVOR:GUATEMALA, and that would, of course, be the twist of bringing Stephenie and Bobby Jon back to be “tools” for the new castaways.
We are now at the most intense, most important part of the game. We’ve merged, and now we’re ready to start building the Jury. As Jeff said at the end of Tribal Council, everything counts now. There’s no more voting someone out and getting away with it or forgetting about them.
And, interestingly enough, both Stephenie and Bobby Jon are still in the game, with, at the very least, guaranteed Jury seats. Every single person eliminated so far has been one of the new competitors, and naturally, the question of “deserving” has arisen numerous times.
Right now, I want to clear the air. Both Stephenie and Bobby Jon deserve to be there. There is no question in my mind whatsoever.
REMEMBER— the twist was designed to give the new castaways a CHOICE. Jeff was very, very blunt in the premiere episode after Stephenie and Bobby Jon joined their new tribes: they can be tools for you to use for their experience, or, they are easy vote-offs at the first Tribal Council you go to. He did not sugarcoat it, he made it very clear: these two were competitors just like you, and it’s up to you to decide what to do with them.
I truly do not want to hear any Guatemala castaways whining about how unfair bringing these two back into the game was; if you hated it so much, do something about it. In the beginning, these two were completely powerless, and they knew it. I know Stephenie latched on to Gary right away, so there was never any real danger in her going home, but there were numerous times where I would hear someone say “I think Bobby Jon should be the one to go because he doesn’t deserve to be here,” and yet, no one acted on it.
I also do not want to hear viewers whining about it anymore, either. One thing I always fail to understand is the self-proclaimed Survivor “purists,” who say that they think twists are unnecessary, unfair, and pointless. I love Survivor, but I’ve got to tell you, if there were no twists and Mark Burnett did not do anything to make each season unique in some way, then this show would have died a long time ago. Why? Because as each season progresses, the players become savvier, and if the game still religiously followed its original formula, it would be far too easy to master, and it would quickly become boring. Twists help to stir things up. They test the players; twists are Mark Burnett’s way of staying ahead of players who consistently have a better idea of how the game works. And, of course, this forces the castaways into positions that lead to entertainment for the viewers.
Oh, and if you want to try and counterbalance my argument by asking me, “Well, one reason twists are unfair is because it increases the role luck plays in the game, and that’s not a good thing.” Don’t bother, because I’m familiar with the argument, and am going to give my position on that right here and save you the trouble of raising it: If you don’t like the idea of luck playing a role in this game, which it clearly does, then don’t bother splitting them up into tribes. That’s a huge thing that involves luck that is not a twist, but rather an original concept in the original formula of the show that “purists” want to go back to. If you were to go back in time and change even just one tiny thing about the make-up of an original tribe, then I guarantee the results of the game would be drastically different. Luck is just a part of the original package, and not a direct result of twists. If you want to completely eradicate luck from the game, then throw them on the beach and let them compete as individuals from the beginning. Even then, you wouldn’t completely eradicate it, because the castaways don’t choose who their competitors will be, so like it or not, luck is in the game to stay.
Anyway, as I have been saying from the very beginning of Guatemala, the reason I loved the Steph/BJ twist was because of the choice it presented the new crop of castaways with, which, of course, as I’ve repeated numerous times over the season thus far, was use them and their experience as a tool to get you farther, or use them as easy vote-offs the first time at TC so none of you need to be the first ones to go.
The tribes obviously both chose to use their physical strength to get ahead, and now, as I said, we are at the most critical point of the game. So where are they now?
Well, Bobby Jon is screwed. He’s on the Jury, which he wanted, and I believe that is only because of his plea to Stephenie. If it had not been for her influence, it likely would have been his butt on the furnace instead of Brandon’s. Now, though, there are only three things that can save him (especially seeing as we’ve never seen much in the way of strategic thinking on his part, he tends to rely much more on physical prowess, which works great for the tribal section of the game, but not for this part):
1) Stephenie
2) Winning Immunity
3) The hidden Immunity Idol (which is a great twist, by the way. I love it. If anyone has a problem with this twist, then please talk to me, because you clearly are delusional.)
Stephenie didn’t seem interested in helping Bobby Jon at all beyond getting him to the Jury, which she has done, and to her credit, she was very upfront about that. She has new friends now.
Unless #2 or #3 materializes this week, then I fully expect Bobby Jon to be voted out this week and become the first Jury member. As I said above, his strength in this game rests solely on his physical abilities. Serves you great during the tribal portion of the game (usually), but not here; mental prowess counts the most at this point of the game.
Stephenie, however, is a completely different story. Stephenie is in complete control at this point in the game.
The biggest complaint people have with Stephenie this season is that she is not anywhere near as likeable as she was in Palau. She’s lost her shine as America’s Sweetheart.
Why? Well, to answer that question, let’s take a look at why she got that role in the first place. In Palau, she was on the Ulong tribe, which we all know now as the Tribe That Couldn’t Win. They never won an Immunity Challenge. For the first time in Survivor history, we had a tribe so decimated that it was left to only one member, and there was never even an official merge, that one person just went and joined the conquering tribe.
Stephenie was a hero. You’ve got to remember that the main, original appeal to reality television is that it allows viewers to see everyday, ordinary people, not celebrities, thrown into adverse situations, doing things they wish they could do themselves. At a deeper level, Survivor is a microcosm of society along Machiavelli principles, but shows like Survivor and The Amazing Race help people to see other ordinary people, from every walk of life, do things they wish they could do themselves.
Stephenie was forced into going back to her camp all alone, as the sole remaining Ulong member. Her strength and determination was something viewers looked up to, and that’s why she came to be so adored. Her overall strategic game was lacking, but she won audience’s hearts by overcoming the enormous odds that were stacked against her.
What’s different in Guatemala? I’ll tell you. Stephenie learned from her strategic shortcomings in Palau; her game has improved 150% this time around. She is no longer the girl overcoming the odds; this time, she is the dominant power player, so therefore, the audience is having a hard time identifying and looking up to her, like they did in Palau.
I give all the credit in the world to Stephenie, though. She, like anybody else would have, jumped at the second chance the producers offered her, and she has run away with it. She went from being an obvious target to controlling Yaxha right away alongside Gary, and then after the switch, she took control of Nakum with Judd and Jamie.
She is in complete control at this point. I would love to see her win this; I’m also pulling for Danni, Rafe, and Lydia. These four seem to be in the best positions. Danni is in trouble because she’s in the minority, but Bobby Jon will go before her, and before too long, something will shake up, probably involving Rafe.
Rafe is actually the only thing that stands between Stephenie and the million. You see, it’s brilliant for her to align with Judd and Jamie, who are quite possibly the least likeable and dumbest people to ever play this game, because going to the Final Two with one of them is really her only hope at winning over a Jury.
The flip side to this is that because they are so unpopular, and neither of them being very bright (Jamie harassing BJ has gone far enough, and he has proven through things he has been saying all season that his mental light bulb is pretty dim to begin with, and he has no class whatsoever, whereas Judd is just an idiot….throwing up in the shelter? How dumb can you possibly be?), the others will be that much more enticed to do a turnaround and make a new alliance.
All that remains to be seen, but for now, Stephenie is in control. As for Rafe, watch him very closely, because if anyone flips, it will be him. And he will likely take Lydia with him, who has shocked and impressed me by making it this far. I thought for sure she’d go home early, but now that the hardest part of the game for her is over and she has made the merge, she has a lot of Final Four potential.
Danni has shown she has a strategic feel for this game, and she also has a lot of potential if a changing-of-power occurs within the next two weeks, otherwise she will be out after Bobby Jon, or maybe even out this week if Bobby Jon wins Immunity or finds the Idol and uses it. So she is in a precarious position right now, but if she can overcome it, and do it within the next couple weeks, she also has the potential of going far and quite possibly winning.
I’m also curious to see as whether Gary is on the verge of a winning streak.
A lot of questions, hopefully some answers, and a lot of fun are in store for us as we begin the final phase (and my favorite phase) of the game. I’m looking forward to it!
“See” you next week!
