“I don’t think I’m that good at playing the game of Survivor”…
Zavion, thus far, truer words have
not been spoken.
Unfortunately, episode 3 opened with Zavion breaking yet another sacred Survivor rule: If you get blindsided, do NOT bitch about it and act like you are entitled to an explanation!
After tribal council, dear Zavion demanded that someone explain to him why nobody informed him that Ashleigh was going to be voted out. Between Corne and Zavion, I am not sure which one has watched fewer episodes of this show.
It astonishes me that these two are shocked that this game involves lying, backstabbing and strategic moves that result in being blindsided! Ever heard of Russell Hantz guys?
The only person who displayed worse behavior than Zavion was Marsha, his loyal alliance partner (who by the way, he lied to and backstabbed. Cue Alanis Morrisette – OH THE IRONY!).
Tribemates talk to each other. As long as tribemates talk to each other, you cannot blatantly lie about people unless you have a concrete insurance policy in place that guarantees that everyone will believe your lie. Again, does the name Russell ring a bell?
Marsha committed a cardinal social sin and was, as I highlighted in last week’s blog, voted out for a social reason. While her physical game is commendable, at this early stage of the game, people are looking for a reason to vote you out.
By going around saying that Gena and Altaaf were trying to get rid of the older people first, Marsha handed her tribe a social reason on a silver platter. Such a pity because I actually believe that had she aligned with someone other than Zavion, worked on her social skills a little more patiently, she could have gone really far!
Now on to Zan. Oh dear. How annoying is Zan? Survival implies that if you have to kill a baby shark for food, then so be it. One thing I never understood about my season, occurred the week that the episode aired where the reward after one of our challenges was a goat named Rezki.
I was not happy about the prize being a live goat because generally I do not eat red meat (for health reasons, not for religious or animal right’s reasons). However it was explained to us and the viewers that the actual dead goat seen on screen was purchased from a butcher in Malaysia and that Rezki was in fact alive and well.
The absolute outrage from animal lovers was surprisingly so selective. They were up in arms about the dead goat being shown on TV but they did not seem to care about the dead fish we killed. Who decides which animal’s life is more valuable than another? If you believe in animal conservation, is it acceptable to kill chickens but not lions? Or any fish except for sharks?
I am not all that well educated when it comes to animal activism admittedly (although I have bought a few rhino bags from Woolies) however, I am logical and I respect consistency when it comes to sticking to what you believe in. Dude, this is not a fishing trip. This is SURVIVOR!! You have to get over yourself on this one Zan.
Last week I mentioned that Graham had a 7-strong alliance. Correction: Apparently Philip is a floater. This week’s episode revealed that the “rugrats” alliance appears to have somewhat of a hierarchy and unfortunately, Philip is at the bottom of that totem pole.
Personally, I think he should stop focusing on hiding sugar cane and think about strategy more carefully. He who eats the most sugar cane does not necessarily win Survivor bru. Just saying.
Then we have “Mr. Blunder of the Hour” aka Sivu, someone who actually almost paid attention to Russell Hantz. I ask you with tears in my eyes: Who finds an immunity idol without a clue and does not immediately find a special hiding spot for it?
If you found it, did it not occur to you that it may be obvious enough for someone else to find it? Surely this was one of the worst moves in Survivor SA history? Hopefully this does not have a huge impact on his future in the game but he most certainly has me questioning his decision-making ability. Mind boggling.
My heart broke a little for Sonette this week. One of the worst feelings in the world has to be when one is under-valued publicly, especially when there is no real basis for it. Maybe that is why the idea of having a coach abandons the social premise of Survivor, for me.
Not only did Mark ignore Sonette, he also ignored Sivu when he suggested that they plan who would sit out of the challenge ahead of time. Mark dismissed the thought. Mark spoke and everyone obeyed. While Mark did recognize this critical error and apologized to the team for it, it did not sit well with me that the tribe is somewhat restricted in how they can play this game by having this pre-determined leader.
Leaders in the game of Survivor tend to bloom organically so this format leaves me with that void which is such a huge part of what makes this game so interesting. Be that as it may, I am really rooting for Sonette. Hang in there girl!!
My last point is a huge kudos to the behind-the-scenes team on this show. I am blown away by the creativity and complexity of the challenges, the flawless editing and in general, the production quality. It is truly a superb season by any standards!
I am still a little irritated with the amount of comfort these contestants enjoy. When Zavion said they were eating breakfast, lunch and supper, I about fainted. Anyway, well done to the entire team!!
Can’t wait to tune in on Sunday :).