MediaScribe
ForumsNet Moderator
Moderator
ForumsNet Member
Keepin' it all together
  
Gender: 
Posts: 2163
|
 |
Wacky Wanda's S13 Episode 7/8 Commentary!
« on: Nov 6th, 2006, 8:55am » |
 Quote  Modify
|
Here's Wanda's latest commentary about this week's Survivor! - MS
Still too many people! We've now seen 8 weeks of Survivor 13, and we still have 12 people in the game! In the only other game that started with 20 people, Palau, three people left on day 3 in the first show of the season, and in the fifth show, day 15 of the game, a double elimination took out two, so that by the end of the sixth show the cast was down to 12. In this season, we are at the ninth show with 12 cast members still remaining, evenly divided between two tribes. By this time next month, we should be preparing for the finale and reunion show so that the network can move forward with holiday programming. Conclusion: Something major has to be coming up soon to eliminate people. Perhaps the big "ten seconds to make your decision" declaration by Jeff Probst in "Next week on Survivor..." foreshawdows what has to happen soon to eliminate people, though I'm surprised that there's been no mention of a multiple elimination, a quick drop-off to the jury number. We shall have to see!
Extra episodes: Do we like them or not? I think we all have a feeling of ambivalence. On one hand, interesting new bits of background and character development emerge. We saw Candice and Adam shivering together and losing their tribe's outrigger (which didn't hurt anybody for long, because the initial tribes soon shuffled and re-partnered in ways that left both tribes with boats).
I pitied them both; I hate being cold. We saw Stephannie go from a beautiful rendition of "Amazing Grace" to being drunk. I felt a bit sorry for her, too, as I understand that she doesn't normally drink, so a little bit of wine went a long way for her. The "saved a wretch like me" line in Amazing Grace is part of a "total depravity" theology that bothers me, but it added to the irony of the situation when there was no salvation for Steph at the next tribal council!
Two things are always disappointing in the extra episodes. The biggest disappointment is that there is no TC, nor any of the build-up thereto that reveals more of the intra-tribal clucking and pecking order. Somehow at the end of the show the feeling of finality and closure just isn't there for us without a vote and a snuffing ceremony! The other disappointment is the review episodes, often of things that were the most embarrassing to people, such as Billy's misunderstanding of Candice's "love" or Cao Boi's dislodging of the bird's nest. What was interesting was seeing Billy's early (and ultimately unsuccessful) attempts at Aitutaki to make alliances with everyone on his tribe, offering pledges of "you and me to the end!" Billy was a long-time Survivor fan, and he went to play the game with all his heart. There was a simple innocence to him that was beautiful and ultimately stirred a pathos that won my heart.
Aitu: Jessica/Flicka's ouster came as absolutely no surprise to me, in spite of efforts to cast Ozzy and Jonathan as sitters on the hot seat. Pre-merge, with tribes relatively balanced in strength, it just wouldn't be safe to get rid of the physically stronger tribe members. Ozzy's value as a provider is unsurpassed by anyone in any of Survivor's 12 seasons. There've been others who could catch some fish, but no others have caught so many, nor has anyone been able to climb a coconut tree like the Great OZ.
I was glad to see Oz negotiating with the women on his tribe, making the case that keeping him would be more to their benefit than keeping either of the other men. However, the loss of Jessica is a loss of a potential ally for Outsider-Oz. On Aitu, Oz needs a firm alliance with Candice, Sundra, and Becky if he's going to go far. If Sundra goes next because of Ozzy's value as a swimmer, provider, and challenge-winner for the tribe, Oz's chances of getting an alliance together are gone. Yul and Jonathan will see him only as a threat in individual immunity challenges, so they will want him out soon, and they have more power over the women than Oz does. Oz would definitely be a major winner of reward and individual immunity challenges. He should be using that as a bargaining chip, telling the gals that if he wins rewards he will take them along for special meals --- but I don't think Oz has watched the show enough to realize that he has that huge bargaining chip in his pocket. He's only arguing from the daily-provider angle. Jonathan and Yul, being older and more polished, persuasive, and powerful, are more likely to keep the girls in line with them.
Candice has been a Survivor fan long enough that she should have the smarts to make an alliance with Oz the Strong to go to final two. Candice could get the other women to go along with the plan. However, none of the women of NewAitu seem to be planners. They're letting the men make the calls. I was struck by Candice's lack of words to praise Ozzy. She commented on his prowess and productivity and then finished with "Ozzy... he's just..... OZZY." It should have been "Ozzy.... he's just AWESOME!" But she could bring herself to pronounce that much praise on someone that she doesn't otherwise find to be in her league socially or mentally. That's a shame. She's not connecting socially on the new level that the game affords her, to step out of circles that would be traditional alliances for her.
Raro: Brad's decision to work the puzzle rather than swim may have cost his tribe a pile of peanut butter sandwiches, but I don't think it was out of laziness or unwillingness to endure the cold from being in and out of the water. I think he genuinely thought that his mind was the sharpest on his tribe for puzzles, and that he was needed there. Unfortunately, there wasn't time for him to demonstrate his prowess with the puzzle after the tribe got far behind in the swimming.
Raro didn't go to TC this week, but Jenny and Rebecca are the likely losers when that eventuality catches up with Raro. Adam and Nate are strong and necessary (Adam took the hit again, joining Jonathan as a two-timer on Exile Island), and Brad's physical strength is also respected, even though he took flak for not swimming in the first reward challenge. Parvati wasthe only swimmer in both competitions, so she clearly offers more physical strength than Jenny or Rebecca, in addition to which her physical charms and pleasant personality have been noted by the girls as well as the guys on her tribe. She has everything she needs to stay into the merge. Jenny was the only tribemember not to swim in either challenge. Barring any new contention on Raro, Rebecca seems likely to outlast Jenny.
The reward and immunity challenges were similar this week: both involved a swimming event followed by a puzzle project, and both divided the tribes into swimmers and puzzlers. This is a good challenge design, involving both physical and mental parts to the competition, so that tribe members who cannot compete equally on physical grounds can still participate in challenges without feeling inferior.
Once again, it was good to see each tribe win one and lose one. Seasons lose interest when one tribe dominates and decimates the other.
THIS JUST IN! Sunday evening: My husband George was watching a football game this evening and saw a Survivor promo that I would have missed. Jeff Probst announces a never-before-made opportunity: Anyone who wants to can switch tribes! Apparently that is the choice they have ten seconds to make.
Who, if anyone, will make a move?
Aitu: I see absolutely no way the Big Four Alliance will crack. Yul, Becky, Jonathan, and Candice feel safe where they are and will not switch. Sundra could have reason to switch if she thinks that rejoining former tribemates Nate and Rebecca gives her a better shot at the long-term than being fifth place after the Big Four. Ozzy has no former tribemates to return to. He could consider moving if he feels sufficiently unappreciated and next-to-go on Aitu.
Raro: Adam, Nate, Brad, and Parvati certainly have a sense of security within their present tribe. I cannot see any one of them making a move. Rebecca and Jenny are the two in danger there, but neither one of them is likely to feel that the welcome mat is out for them at Aitu. Rebecca has no stronger reason for trying to rejoin Sundra than for sticking with Nate as a bro, and Jenny won't find a closer pal in former Asian tribemate Becky, if she crossed over, than she has if she sticks with original tribemate Brad and her new best-friend/sister Rebecca.
Anyone who moves has to consider not only the potential advantages of moving but also the long-term repercussions with tribemates left behind, who are less likely to trust them in the post-merge situation. In the (unlikely) event that someone who switches becomes a finalist, the move could even affect the vote of some jury members who were jilted tribemates.
My hunch is that only Sundra and Ozzy will give Jeff's offer more than two seconds consideration. A move could be "from the frying pan into the fire." Oz would be a threat to Adam, Nate, and Brad as much as he is to Yul and Jonathan. Sundra could also find herself welcomed in Stephannie's place but still left on the perimeter so that tribal council would find her on the outside, just saving Jenny's torch from the next snuff.
The offer is a fascinating twist, but I have a hard time seeing anyone accepting it.
|
Sponsored by: The Fans!
Home
Help
Search
Members
Chat
Member Map
Login
Register
Reply
Add Poll
Notify of replies
Send Topic
Print