Ego – It’s what’s for breakfast.
I don’t like the second chance reality shows. All-Stars, Fans vs. Favorites, Heroes vs. Villains, etc. to name the Survivor ones. Why don’t I like them? These people have had their shot. They won or they didn’t. There are thousands of other interesting people out there who would cheat, beg, borrow, steal, etc. to have the chance. Also there is something that is less satisfying about having this human drama unfold with people you already know. For the most part the character dies have be rolled and we know who they are (or at least who the editors have shaped them into.) Still, I have to say that the H v. V season of Survivor has been great.
In my ultimate wisdom I already know who won (accidentally read it on-line and the 100% spot-on accuracy including many of the twists leads me to believe the intel to be correct), but I will approach this as if I don’t know. Let’s look at who we have left:
Colby – My wife asked me if age was the factor with Colby. He’s just not the competitor he was. Not only physically, but also mentally his heart just doesn’t appear to be in it. Why did he bother? Plus his, “I’m proud of how I’ve played the game, are you?” dig at Candice is just plain dumb. Has he forgotten that he stabbed Jeri in the back in the Australian Outback?
Rupert – I don’t like Rupert. I never have. Russell nailed it perfectly in that he has bought into his own hype. Even Jeff Probst noted that Rupert is delusional in thinking that he is one of (if not) the strongest ones left. He’s not. He’s almost a caricature of what he was made out to be in Pearl Islands. Another person who doesn’t understand that it’s a game (this will become important). He also has kept the stupid Hero moniker like a badge of honor. Will he make a deal with the devil to stay in the game next week?
Jeri – Jeri has surprised me a lot this season. Age has seemed to soften her. She’s still a hard edged person, but maybe the folly of youth that she no longer has has made her somewhat more palatable. I couldn’t stand her her first go round. Thought she was alright the second time, and this time she’s almost someone to root for, except for the fact that in losing her edge she has become…boring.
Sandra – I can’t stand this woman. Which makes this next part much more difficult to say (type). There is an intelligence, possibly even a subtle genius to the way she’s playing, which is the same way she played before. She is playing by not playing. Her whole “anyone but me” approach furthers her in the game. This should get her to the next week, then the next week. It should not, under any circumstances, win the game for her. A big mistake was made when they kept Sandra instead of Courtney and it will change the entire end-game for everyone.
Parvati – Has played incredibly well. She is part of the ego problem part one, but I will spell that out later. Of the six remaining, she is one of two and a half people that have a real claim to the title of ultimate survivor. A small crack in her game play has appeared in the way the whole Danielle situation was handled.
Russell – I have to wonder if playing back to back with pretty much no rest in between has really hurt him. He’s good. Damn good. But he’s sloppy. He reminds me of Khan. Two-dimensional thinking. He can’t keep his mouth shut when he should. I loved his conversation with Rupert. He was spot-on. He may be the best player ever, but I don’t think this will help him in the end. He is the other “full-person” that could/should win.
The only people who have an outright claim IMHO are Russell and Parvati. If they’re both there it is a tossup, but Russell should win because he has been behind nearly every boot. So Russell, Parvati, and anyone else: Russell should win, Parvati would.
Jeri is the half person. She has played well, if boring, but has definitely influenced the game to be where it is. Not good enough against the big two, but better than everyone else.
Assuming a final three, the only possibility left is Colby, Rupert, and Sandra. In this case it would be the lesser of evils for me, with Sandra winning (deserving to), but Rupert actually winning.
Ego – Russell has it in spades. Parvati has it. Both of them (and Boston Rob before them) have missed a golden opportunity. If they were able to put aside the need to “be in charge” they could have run the table easily. Russell needed to be the man so he put the whole Danielle vs. Parvati thing in play. Not a bad move, if he did it next week. As I’ve stated over and over again, at the end of the day Survivor is a numbers game. Simple math. He needed to wait another week before making that move. He should have seen that there’s no way a hero loses with the jury so they have to be cut-today! However he had his feelings hurt, so he had to go rogue a week early so he was back in the driver’s seat, which will actually put him in the dog house. None of this would have been necessary if Parvati would have been upfront with Russell about the idol she found. Once again, all about ego.
If you watch the Ponderosa videos on CBS.com, it is apparently very obvious that Russell has no shot at winning with the jury. That’s bull-shit. Not knowing (or pretending not to know) how the end-game plays out if the vote was today either Russell or Parvati should win. You could make valid cases backing both, but I think that Russell would have the upper hand. These are supposed to be seasoned veterans of the show. People that know what it takes to get it done, and respect the game. An admission that they will not vote for someone because of who they are points to a lack of respect for the game, which is what it is. You can almost rationalize why he didn’t win last time (with the cast being all newbies), but there is no excuse for hurt feelings or hatred to overshadow the respect of the game that should be the deciding factor. They’ve all been around the block, so they should know better. It saddens me to think they don’t.
Lastly, the Danielle crying jag. This reminded me of the Fans vs. Favorites season where people got weepy about voting off their friends after being openly jubilant while casting off (via blind sides) others. As vets of the game they should know that they won’t know what’s coming, and shouldn’t take it personal.
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