Wow, that was harsh.
This season of Survivor has been a bit lackluster, but at least we’re starting to see the alliances shift and players are beginning to make big moves. None of these people have the amount of strategic intelligence that Boston Rob has in his pinky finger, but it’s better than nothing.
Jon and Jaclyn are burning bridges like Russell Hantz burns socks. They’ve found themselves the swing votes several times, and keep jumping ship for greener pastures. Last week, they bailed on a pretty newly formed alliance because Wes, Alec and Keith were disrespectful to Jaclyn. I was onboard with the decision – they voted out a threat and seemed to have a pretty solid six on four majority.
Jon, Jaclyn, Jeremy, Natalie, Missy and Baylor could have gone straight to the end together. They are essentially three couples, since Jeremy and Natalie are both singles and closely aligned.
To secure the alliance, Natalie had the good idea to give up the reward she won to Jaclyn. Jeremy followed suit and gave his spot to Jon. And then everyone agreed to send Jeremy to Exile Island. Ouch! Way harsh. Why? Because there’s an Idol hidden on Exile Island, and the majority group wanted their guy to find it.
…Only Jon had already found the Idol, and hadn’t told anyone. So Jeremy was sent to spend two nights in utter misery for nothing.
It’s a tricky situation. I think secrecy is usually the best policy when it comes to Hidden Immunity Idols, but they’ve become so easy to find that no one will believe it if you say you didn’t find it. Jeremy did not believe Jon, and Jon knew it. So he started to rock the boat, and told Missy that Jeremy should be their next target.
It seemed like Jon knew he’d screwed up. He admitted that he hadn’t realized that once Jeremy went to Exile Island, he’d know Jon had the Idol. But was voting Jeremy out really the only way to deal with that situation? I would have tried honesty, an apology, and a promise to be the next one to suffer on Exile Island. After all, if they start sending opponents there, everyone will know they have an Idol.
I think it was a bad decision for Jon and Jaclyn to bail on alliance yet again, even though they brought Missy and Baylor with them. They are making a lot of enemies, so with every burned bridge it becomes less likely that they’ll get a vote for a million dollars. I think Missy just made two enemies as well – I don’t see Jeremy or Natalie voting for her or Baylor now.
What do you guys think? Was the blindside a good idea?
Other thoughts:
- I feel like that Immunity Challenge was thought up in someone’s living room, after a night of drinking and playing Jenga. “Hey, watch me set up the tower with my feet!” Ick.
- Though they’re the first two members of the jury, I think Josh and Jeremy were two of the strongest players this season. I’d be interested to see how they do with a different group.
- Keith doesn’t really talk to the women, unless “passing by”. You know, when they’re in his way and he can’t avoid it.
- There’s no such thing as good will on Survivor. Had Jeremy not given up his Reward, he wouldn’t have been sent to Exile, Jon wouldn’t have gotten caught in a lie and Jeremy would still be in the game.
