An “Insider” Look at Episode 12
An “Insider” Look at Survivor: Fiji Episode 12 – “People's Paranoia and Emotions Got the Better of Them” by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 05/07/2007 This past week, attorney Alex was finally sent home, despite his valiant efforts to turn the vote against Yau-Man. What is it about Boo besides his chatter that makes his fellow tribemates get so irritated with him? And why does Alex say that he went into this experience thinking it was like a big poker game, but came out with an entirely different opinion of the game of Survivor? Alex's Final Words Alex starts out by saying it's a funny game. He doesn't know if he would have started the game any differently because of that. But he does wonder if he tried to take control a little too early. He should have been a bit more careful about who he trusted. He wasn't close enough to the information he received. He did give 110% to the game. Alex is proud of what he did out here. He never gave up and has no regrets. He wants all the kids out there who want to give up that there is hope and there's no such thing as impossible. He says to remember to never stop fighting. You can amaze yourselves. Alex finishes by saying he thinks the rest of the tribe is “living in a dream world” if they don't think they're going to have to backstab each other. “Things are going to get very ugly at this point.” He doesn't think they believe this will be a walk in the park. They voted out someone they could trust. There are six people left and only two at the end. He thinks it's going to be a real mess and fun to watch from his new angle. Alex, The Day After Alex is all cleaned up and hanging out on a tree in this interview. He says that Survivor is a tough game, but looking back on it he realizes it was a lot of fun. He says it was fun like a boxing match against a really worthy opponent. You get your ass kicked, but in retrospect, it was fun. Alex thinks that after the merge, “people's paranoia and emotions got the better of them.” At that point in the game, for some reason, it was revealed Alex went to Harvard Law School. He thinks this upped his profile as a target. Like in life, sometimes if you want something really badly, you hold on to tight and it slips through your fingers. He thinks that's what happened to him in the game. Alex says that his darkest moment in the game was post-merger when his alliance was destroyed by a betrayal, a backstabbing, by one of the members of his alliance. He always knew it was a possibility, but when it happened, it was hard. He actually thought about giving up and getting out of the “rabbit hole.” But he fought on. After that, he couldn't trust Mookie that much. He had the immunity idol and, in Alex's opinion, he'd been a bit wishy-washy. But he had trusted Dreamz for the most part. He talked about honesty and religion all of the time. But never trust a hard sell. But, because of that, it hurt him more when Dreamz betrayed him. It's different when it's just a mathematical probability in your head. But having someone look you in the eye, someone you thought was trustworthy, and having them stab you in the back was... “et tu, Brute.” It was cold, and a real eye-opener. It left an indelible mark on him. This is just a game, but it does say something about you and your personality – how you play the game. Dreamz' backstabbing was darker than he expected, even though he knew it was a possibility. It's not like poker out here. Alex went in thinking it was like poker, but it's not. There's a line of integrity in this game and personal integrity matters. You have to outwit, outlast, and outplay. Some of outwitting is lying. But...the rest matters too. Alex climbed Mt. Whitney this year. He struggled to test himself doing that. Now, he's done Survivor – by far the hardest thing he's done. Alex came out here to see what he was made of, and he did that. Alex acquits himself well in this interview. He actually does a reasonable job of explaining how even smart people who are good game players have real trouble treating such an incredibly immersive experience, like Survivor, as just a game. Intellectually, Alex went in knowing Survivor is a game. But the experience itself transforms it into a much more personal experience, one that can't be just a game for all but, perhaps, a few people. Reward Challenge: Cannibal Feast This is the challenges shown on the episode. The players struggle to rip off large hunks of flesh from large carcasses of some kind. If we believe the title, the players are ripping apart fired cameramen or the like, but even CBS probably has a “no cooking cameramen” clause somewhere in their contract. Whatever the form of meat, Boo wins this challenge, earning himself a trip with Yau-Man and Dreamz and a free pass through the first part of this week's immunity challenge. Yau-Man on Boo Yau-Man interviews that everyone was sitting around waiting for something – except for Boo. Somehow, Boo's habit of nonstop talking was brought up. Yau-Man notes that Alex was in on this conversation. He has little patience with Boo now. Yau-Man says Alex's time on the island is short. Boo is a very tough guy, but he just can't stop talking. While they were on the reward, Boo just couldn't shut up and enjoy it. He would sometimes just go on saying nonsense. Yau-Man and Dreamz just tried to tune him out so they wouldn't ruin the trip. But it almost spoiled the trip, hearing all of Boo's stupid comments and constant talking. Yau-Man says that it's getting to the point people feel like they don't have to be polite. It's almost at the point people can just say “shut up” about it. Yau-Man also thinks Boo comes from a “very strange” background. He doesn't seem to have many family ties. Dreamz got four letters from home and Yau-Man got three very long letters. But Boo only got one really short letter that was maybe two sentences from his Mom. He didn't even seem to want to read it again. It was strange. They wondered what was going on with his family. It was like they didn't care very much. People wonder if Boo wants attention because he might not get it at home. The other thing Boo doesn't seem to understand is that all of his jokes are “beyond X-rated” and he doesn't seem to understand that the women and some other folks don't appreciate it. He's not sensitive to any of the social issues or regular politeness. It's becoming a problem. This is an interesting clip. It gives a lot more insight than what we've seen on the show as to why Boo seems to rub so many people the wrong way. Apparently, some of Boo's more irritating personal behaviors may not really be usable on TV. It's sad he only got one short letter from home, too. I can't blame the others for wondering about that. Immunity Challenge: Twister This is the same clip shown on TV. Everyone except for Boo digs through the sand. Only Alex, Yau-Man, and Dreamz seem to have any success at all with the digging. Cassandra looks as though she isn't really trying. Alex makes a bold shot at scaling the pole in the second part of the challenge without using his paddles, but falls just short, being unable to climb the last bit of the pole. I think if Alex had taken one more paddle with him, he would have won this challenge. His attempt apparently left Alex with a nasty infection in his legs from scraping them along the pole. That's seems a true definition of “adding insult to injury.” Or injury to insult, as the case may be. Tribal Council This week's Tribal Council was very cohesive, despite Alex's best attempts to turn the vote on Yau-Man. But what did his tribemates have to say when they voted him out? Alex votes for Yau-Man. “Nothing personal, Yau-Man. Just trying to stay in this as long as I can. Best of luck.” Boo votes for Alex. “It's just the way the ball bounces. Good luck.” Stacy votes for Alex. “This is one vote that should have counted last week. Game over.” Yau-Man votes for Alex. “Good-bye, it's finally time for you to go. We tried it once, it didn't work. Now, it will work. Thank you.” Earl votes for Alex. “You put up a good fight. I respect that.” Dreamz votes for Alex. “Sorry, Bro.” Cassandra votes for Alex. “Alex, you played a really good game.” Overall, Alex's tribemates seem to like and respect him. He had a solid chance to win the game, but he backed the wrong horse... er, horsemen, when he chose his allies. I can't help but wonder if he had chosen a few of the women (or Anthony) who were booted early to pull into his alliance, if things might have turned out differently for him. He had little luck explaining strategy to the three guys in his alliance, and Rocky as well. Having allies who better understood that aspect of the game might have made a difference for him.
An “Insider” Look at Survivor: Fiji Episode 12 – “People's Paranoia and Emotions Got the Better of Them” by Teeuwynn Woodruff -- 05/07/2007 This past week, attorney Alex was finally sent home, despite his valiant efforts to turn the vote against Yau-Man. What is it about Boo besides his chatter that makes his fellow tribemates get so irritated with him? And why does Alex say that he went into this experience thinking it was like a big poker game, but came out with an entirely different opinion of the game of Survivor? Alex's Final Words Alex starts out by saying it's a funny game. He doesn't know if he would have started the game any differently because of that. But he does wonder if he tried to take control a little too early. He should have been a bit more careful about who he trusted. He wasn't close enough to the information he received. He did give 110% to the game. Alex is proud of what he did out here. He never gave up and has no regrets. He wants all the kids out there who want to give up that there is hope and there's no such thing as impossible. He says to remember to never stop fighting. You can amaze yourselves. Alex finishes by saying he thinks the rest of the tribe is “living in a dream world” if they don't think they're going to have to backstab each other. “Things are going to get very ugly at this point.” He doesn't think they believe this will be a walk in the park. They voted out someone they could trust. There are six people left and only two at the end. He thinks it's going to be a real mess and fun to watch from his new angle. Alex, The Day After Alex is all cleaned up and hanging out on a tree in this interview. He says that Survivor is a tough game, but looking back on it he realizes it was a lot of fun. He says it was fun like a boxing match against a really worthy opponent. You get your ass kicked, but in retrospect, it was fun. Alex thinks that after the merge, “people's paranoia and emotions got the better of them.” At that point in the game, for some reason, it was revealed Alex went to Harvard Law School. He thinks this upped his profile as a target. Like in life, sometimes if you want something really badly, you hold on to tight and it slips through your fingers. He thinks that's what happened to him in the game. Alex says that his darkest moment in the game was post-merger when his alliance was destroyed by a betrayal, a backstabbing, by one of the members of his alliance. He always knew it was a possibility, but when it happened, it was hard. He actually thought about giving up and getting out of the “rabbit hole.” But he fought on. After that, he couldn't trust Mookie that much. He had the immunity idol and, in Alex's opinion, he'd been a bit wishy-washy. But he had trusted Dreamz for the most part. He talked about honesty and religion all of the time. But never trust a hard sell. But, because of that, it hurt him more when Dreamz betrayed him. It's different when it's just a mathematical probability in your head. But having someone look you in the eye, someone you thought was trustworthy, and having them stab you in the back was... “et tu, Brute.” It was cold, and a real eye-opener. It left an indelible mark on him. This is just a game, but it does say something about you and your personality – how you play the game. Dreamz' backstabbing was darker than he expected, even though he knew it was a possibility. It's not like poker out here. Alex went in thinking it was like poker, but it's not. There's a line of integrity in this game and personal integrity matters. You have to outwit, outlast, and outplay. Some of outwitting is lying. But...the rest matters too. Alex climbed Mt. Whitney this year. He struggled to test himself doing that. Now, he's done Survivor – by far the hardest thing he's done. Alex came out here to see what he was made of, and he did that. Alex acquits himself well in this interview. He actually does a reasonable job of explaining how even smart people who are good game players have real trouble treating such an incredibly immersive experience, like Survivor, as just a game. Intellectually, Alex went in knowing Survivor is a game. But the experience itself transforms it into a much more personal experience, one that can't be just a game for all but, perhaps, a few people. Reward Challenge: Cannibal Feast This is the challenges shown on the episode. The players struggle to rip off large hunks of flesh from large carcasses of some kind. If we believe the title, the players are ripping apart fired cameramen or the like, but even CBS probably has a “no cooking cameramen” clause somewhere in their contract. Whatever the form of meat, Boo wins this challenge, earning himself a trip with Yau-Man and Dreamz and a free pass through the first part of this week's immunity challenge. Yau-Man on Boo Yau-Man interviews that everyone was sitting around waiting for something – except for Boo. Somehow, Boo's habit of nonstop talking was brought up. Yau-Man notes that Alex was in on this conversation. He has little patience with Boo now. Yau-Man says Alex's time on the island is short. Boo is a very tough guy, but he just can't stop talking. While they were on the reward, Boo just couldn't shut up and enjoy it. He would sometimes just go on saying nonsense. Yau-Man and Dreamz just tried to tune him out so they wouldn't ruin the trip. But it almost spoiled the trip, hearing all of Boo's stupid comments and constant talking. Yau-Man says that it's getting to the point people feel like they don't have to be polite. It's almost at the point people can just say “shut up” about it. Yau-Man also thinks Boo comes from a “very strange” background. He doesn't seem to have many family ties. Dreamz got four letters from home and Yau-Man got three very long letters. But Boo only got one really short letter that was maybe two sentences from his Mom. He didn't even seem to want to read it again. It was strange. They wondered what was going on with his family. It was like they didn't care very much. People wonder if Boo wants attention because he might not get it at home. The other thing Boo doesn't seem to understand is that all of his jokes are “beyond X-rated” and he doesn't seem to understand that the women and some other folks don't appreciate it. He's not sensitive to any of the social issues or regular politeness. It's becoming a problem. This is an interesting clip. It gives a lot more insight than what we've seen on the show as to why Boo seems to rub so many people the wrong way. Apparently, some of Boo's more irritating personal behaviors may not really be usable on TV. It's sad he only got one short letter from home, too. I can't blame the others for wondering about that. Immunity Challenge: Twister This is the same clip shown on TV. Everyone except for Boo digs through the sand. Only Alex, Yau-Man, and Dreamz seem to have any success at all with the digging. Cassandra looks as though she isn't really trying. Alex makes a bold shot at scaling the pole in the second part of the challenge without using his paddles, but falls just short, being unable to climb the last bit of the pole. I think if Alex had taken one more paddle with him, he would have won this challenge. His attempt apparently left Alex with a nasty infection in his legs from scraping them along the pole. That's seems a true definition of “adding insult to injury.” Or injury to insult, as the case may be. Tribal Council This week's Tribal Council was very cohesive, despite Alex's best attempts to turn the vote on Yau-Man. But what did his tribemates have to say when they voted him out? Alex votes for Yau-Man. “Nothing personal, Yau-Man. Just trying to stay in this as long as I can. Best of luck.” Boo votes for Alex. “It's just the way the ball bounces. Good luck.” Stacy votes for Alex. “This is one vote that should have counted last week. Game over.” Yau-Man votes for Alex. “Good-bye, it's finally time for you to go. We tried it once, it didn't work. Now, it will work. Thank you.” Earl votes for Alex. “You put up a good fight. I respect that.” Dreamz votes for Alex. “Sorry, Bro.” Cassandra votes for Alex. “Alex, you played a really good game.” Overall, Alex's tribemates seem to like and respect him. He had a solid chance to win the game, but he backed the wrong horse... er, horsemen, when he chose his allies. I can't help but wonder if he had chosen a few of the women (or Anthony) who were booted early to pull into his alliance, if things might have turned out differently for him. He had little luck explaining strategy to the three guys in his alliance, and Rocky as well. Having allies who better understood that aspect of the game might have made a difference for him.