Recap, Episode 3 (9/28)
NEW TRIBES, NEW ALLIANCES Cecilia Voted Out On night nine during a tense Tribal Council, Cecilia Mansilla, the 29-year-old Technology Risk Consultant from Oakland, California, leaves the game in a five to three vote. Presumably in a secure position, the decision came as a shock to the unsuspecting Cecilia as Jessica and Cao Boi switched their votes in the final hour. Disappointed in the swift turn the game has taken, Cecilia delivers her final words. "This vote tonight, it's insane. It's just a testament as to how quickly the game can change. But I have no regrets. I had a great time." Lightened Load Returning to their camp after a calculated vote at Tribal Council where Billy professed his admiration for Candice of the Raro tribe, Aitu discussed the probability of Billy's love affair. "All the stuff that came out of Billy's mouth tonight was just ridiculous. Words can't even describe the Candice situation. If it's true it's true, but, it's not true," notes a smirking J.P. Broken Record In the early light of day, the Puka tribe is greeted with a slew of new non-stop stories from Cao Boi. Aggravated with Cao Boi's garrulous behavior, Brad sums up his frustration on the matter: "I have had a sort of coming to Jesus in my own mind with Cao Boi. I really in my heart of hearts don't think he's all there and will ever be there… unless he's medicated." Four Tribes Become Two The four tribes are in for a surprise when they convene for their next challenge. To the shock and disbelief of all Survivors, Jeff Probst commands, "Drop your buffs. You have been living together as tribes divided based on ethnicity. It is now time to integrate." In a series of random selections, two new tribes are born. The Raro tribe now consists of Nate, Rebecca and Stephannie from the old Hiki tribe, Brad and Jenny from Puka, J.P. and Cristina from the Aitu tribe and Adam and Parvati returning to their home at Raro. The new Aitu tribe consists of Yul, Becky and Cao Boi from the old Puka tribe, Sundra from Hiki, Jonathan, Candice and Flica from the old Raro tribe and Ozzy and Cecilia returning to their old camp at Aitu. Anxiously the two new tribes depart for their new homes. Melting Pot Rejoicing as the new Raro tribe arrives at their camp, Stephannie puts the mixture of ethnicities that make up her new family into perspective. "The way our tribe is blended at this point… you really don't see color, you see the heart of that individual and what they're doing to make your tribe stronger. That's what this is about." However, a warm welcome is not the only thing on the new tribe's mind as Brad reveals the game is on. "It's going to be all smiles and pleasure to meet you, and glad you're here but in the back of your mind, it's a game and you're in it to win it for yourself. First and foremost, cold hard cash." It's Not Personal, It's Business As the new Aitu tribe settles into their camp, Candice, Becky, Jonathan and Yul waste no time forming a tight alliance of four. Needing a fifth person to give them a number advantage in their tribe, Jonathan pulls in a hesitant Flica as their fifth. Weary of his plan, Jessica laments, "Jonathan wants me to stay in the alliance from our original tribe. I'm just kinda playing my cards, like I'm not really thinking about alliances. I'm just here to make friends and see what happens and try to go as long as I can with out feeling fake." Idol Chatter Later, in a move to solidify his relationship with Becky, Yul confides to her that he found the hidden Immunity Idol at Exile Island. "I think it's a huge advantage in this game to have someone you can absolutely trust and I think given our backgrounds and common interest, I felt comfortable disclosing the information to her," explains Yul. Catch of the Day With the abundance of strong young men on her tribe, a flirtatious Parvati casts her net: "I decided to work Nate. I'm absolutely going to flirt. It's what I do best." Meanwhile, Nate is busy catching his own prey as he spears a giant octopus. Reveling in his success, Nate gushes, "Yeah, we're eating this fool tonight!" Immunity Challenge: Steeple Chase The two new tribes face off on the battlefield for the first time as Jeff Probst explains the rules. The tribes will be clipped together by a rope carrying 15 pound sand bags each. They will start on opposite sides of the course, racing through knee-deep water to catch the other tribe. If a tribe member drops out they must give their 15 pounds to someone from their tribe, doubling that person's weight. The first tribe to tackle a member from the other tribe to the ground wins Immunity. The challenge begins as the tribes tirelessly trudge through the water, attempting to make up ground on each other. In a strategic move, Aitu decides to have all their women drop out in order for the men to run the course and catch Raro. Despite their heroic attempts, Raro proves too strong as the overpowering men dominate the challenge and tackle Aitu. Raro wins Immunity and the right to send a member of the losing Aitu tribe to Exile Island. Raro selects Candice from the new Aitu tribe, thus saving her from Aitu's Tribal Council. Game On, For Some With Candice on Exile Island, the tables turn on the alliance of Becky, Yul and Jonathan when Cao Boi targets Becky as the weakest link on the tribe. "We're all voting for Becky. Cao Boi, myself, Cecilia Sundra and Flica seem to have some sort of agreement and we'll see if it stands," states an uneasy Ozzy. Getting wind of the new plan to oust Becky, Jonathan and Yul scramble to save Becky and their alliance. "Trying to convince Flica and Cao Boi to vote with us is the key. If not, then all bets are off and it's going to be a whole different kettle of fish," states a worried Jonathan. At Tribal Council, Jonathan and Yul's bargaining pays off when Cao Boi and Flica help save Becky and vote Cecilia out, five votes to three.

Strategic Overview of Survivor, Episode 3: Taking the Fifth by Jeffrey D. Sadow -- 09/29/2006 SOS! With the tribal shuffle, the dynamics of the game obviously take a serious jolt. Everyone is scrambling to make new alliances and reinforce old ones. Who picks the best partners, and why did Jonathan choose badly? Professor Sadow has the details! Tonight’s episode showed how to and how not to assemble a winning coalition in Survivor, with an emphasis more on the latter than former. However, first things first: the new Aitu appears to be made of sterner stuff than the new Raro. It has three of the most dominant players to date (Yul, Jonathan, and Ozzy) and Candice has potential as well. There also seems to be a good blend of athleticism, brains, and wisdom on Aitu compared to Raro. The only advantage Raro has is youth, which was demonstrated in the challenge. But most challenges won’t convey such a huge advantage to that aspect as this one did, so Aitu should gain the upper hand over the next couple of weeks. We were shown little about the dynamics on Raro, but on Aitu some good lessons on strategy got demonstrated. Both Jonathan and Yul had the right idea in procuring a partner, and then joining forces. Of the two, Yul made the better selection. Becky is a person that can be led around (as Cao Boi pointed out, she will float along relying on somebody else). Jonathan, by contrast, may be in for surprise. It’s early on, but one gets the sense that he achieves more by his smooth talking than by strategic sense, while Candice seems like somebody perfectly content to sit in the background until its time to make a move, in the meantime letting someone like Jonathan think he’s running things. If it were to come down to these four, without an immunity win Jonathan would be the best bet to go, and he would be surprised by it. Even as Yul has chosen wisely, he did make a mistake in telling Becky about the idol. The best players must heed the advice Lt. Columbo once gave to a criminology class, “don’t talk too much … sometimes it’s better to keep something to yourself and let people think something else.” There was no gain to be had by telling her, and, worse, only disadvantages in pledging he’d use it to save her. If the Tribal Council vote had gone the other way, he would have had to save her right there and then to keep his word (he easily could have broken it; nobody would ever have known and she wouldn’t have been sitting on the jury). Yul dodged a bullet there but some damage has been done because he gave up something (the promise, which will have a cost attached to it) for nothing. For his sake, hopefully he’ll learn from the experience. Jonathan, however, made a worse mistake in selecting a fifth for the nascent alliance. He did right in passing on Ozzy and Cecelia, because they could have a bond from their previous tribal existence which would make for an unreliable partner in taking one over the other, and Ozzy would have been a double mistake by introducing another potentially dominant player into the alliance. Sundra in the sense of previous tribal loyalties as a singleton was a better choice, but still would have been less optimal because too many weaker players (assuming for the moment Jonathan sees Candice as such) on an alliance allows them to go far in the game, then to overthrow the numerically fewer stronger ones. It would have been worse still if in fact Candice does show she’s hiding some talents and would have organized the other two women. At least he got it down correctly to one out of two which both had a previous tribal loyalty to their group (Jessica to him and Candice, Cao Boi to Yul and Becky) – and then chose the wrong person in Jessica. One of these two was optimal because they are considered the resident flakes, a valuable kind of person to get an alliance past the mid-game because they will be a vote for you yet are not a threat to win the game. But snowflakes are all unique and Cao Boi clearly would have been a better selection of the two presented. First, Cao Boi does have some head for the game, as he demonstrated in his talk to Jessica about the upcoming vote, just as she revealed she does not. Players should want flakes on their side because they cannot win but they also act unpredictably which can ruin the best laid plans. Because of his age and experience, Cao Boi is the more predictable of the two and the more likely to think strategically, producing greater loyalty and even better manipulability (the most difficult element to plan around is the one whose next move you can least anticipate). Also, Jonathan failed to read correctly Jessica’s unease with the lineup he presented. From what we could tell, Cao Boi would have had fewer qualms about joining in. It was this failure to anticipate that nearly blew it for him, and Yul had to save the day by getting Cao Boi to come over, which had the effect of securing Jessica as well. Note that Jonathan’s optimal move all along would have been not to bring aboard Candice and then Jessica, but to secure first Cao Boi, and then Jessica, separately, as having Cao Boi there would reassure Jessica. In this fashion, he could bring the two of them to bear against the double-secret alliance of Yul and Becky at endgame. By moving first, he could have made them more of a threesome that he could control. Instead, as things turned out, now neither Yul nor Jonathan separately or together, can control the situation. Rather, the way in which the recruitment played ended up ceding power to Cao Boi and Jessica. The process gave them incentive to form a dyad that, at this time, threatens to control the tribe by its strategic placement. Consider what happens the next time (if ever) the tribe loses an immunity matchup. Let’s assume the rules remain the same – wining tribe picks the exile. If any of Cao Boi, Jessica, Ozzy, or Sundra get picked, the Jonathan-Yul-Candice-Becky axis survives and takes control. But if the decision rule about picking somebody weak unlikely to be voted off (having the dual advantage of allowing the hidden immunity idol to be unfound – that’s the idea, at least – and exposing a stronger player to eviction) remains in force at Raro, the next logical person to get sent off is Becky – because Candice has gone already, Cao Boi and Jessica are flakes, Ozzy, Yul, and Jonathan are strong, and Sundra is a singleton from previous tribe experience meaning she is less likely to have an alliance made, and if Raro is thinking ahead they’ll want to send off the weaker presumed dyad member so the others can finish off the stronger one. If that plays out, Jonathan, Yul, and Candice have lost control of the situation and Cao Boi and Jessica have it, because they could alight with Ozzy and Sundra to evict one of that troika. Again, had Jonathan not decided to invite in Candice, he with Yul, Becky, Cao Boi and Jessica could have a pretty unimpeachable five that even at the merge would be a strong force. Instead, now they face trickier waters to navigate, especially since Cao Boi and Jessica now are alerted to the fact that they were useful to that alliance for one turn, but that it will not bring both of them along without risking its own doom – because that concession in essence allows for three dyad to compete, and they must know they will be the odd dyad out if they allow the other two to go through unmolested. This suggests that if Raro is thinking ahead after their next immunity win and Becky is exiled, Jonathan may well be the choice to go – because he had the fewest clues by which to find the idol so he might be figured to be the least likely of the three to have it, as whipping out the idol would send one of the majority on that vote home. It seemed like a minor set of misjudgments at the time, Jonathan’s trying to bring first Candice, then Jessica into the fold, instead of Cao Boi, then Jessica. But it’s an error that may cost Jonathan his game life.

Surviving the Cook Islands, Episode 3: Serious Plotting by David Bloomberg -- 09/29/2006 Let the plotting and scheming begin! You’ve already seen the commercials indicating the tribes will be shuffled. Who ends up where? What battle lines are drawn? And who finds themselves in the middle? Also, what happens when Candice finds out about what Billy said in Tribal Council? Read on to find out! On last week’s episode, Billy used a strategy that he later admitted to me was “stupid” – and he paid the price by being sent home. Meanwhile, Yul was shipped off to Exile Island, where he found the hidden immunity idol. The prediction of four out of five RNO writers who thought he’d win is looking better every day. This week, the commercials hint that there will be a tribal shuffle, which is about the timing I expected. Will they go all the way down to two or just to three for now? What will the shuffle mean for early allies? And who will get the short end of the stick? Let’s find out! We begin at Aitu on night six, after they have returned from one of the most bizarre Tribal Councils ever. One of the women says she just can’t get over the whole “love at first sight” thing. Some of them think it might have happened but Candice was playing him. Others think if they ever tell Candice, she’ll say, “What? Who?” J.P. tells us he doesn’t even know what to make of everything that happened. And the Candice situation, well, “if it’s true, it’s true… but it’s not true.” The next morning, over at Puka, Brad is doing some shallow water spear fishing, and gets one. Cao Boi, meanwhile, is telling a story. Imagine that! That reminds me – special thanks to Polly, who told me what she believes the answer is to Cao Boi’s unfinished joke from last week. As you recall, the joke was, “What do you call a Vietnamese with three dogs?” The answer: A vegetarian! Just remember, it was Cao Boi’s joke, not ours, so you can direct your angry letters to him. Anyway, I’m not quite sure I understand what this particular story is about. Something to do with a Vietnamese man with teenage kids and somebody getting sent to Iraq. I don’t think it really matters, though. What does matter is that Brad is fed up with Cao Boi’s constant talking. He doesn’t think Cao Boi “is all there.” Well, as the story goes on, we can at least see that Cao Boi is definitely not a Republican, as he slams Bush. At Raro, they have treemail. They do their morning exercises to prepare and feel ready to go. The four tribes arrive and Yul is brought back from Exile Island. Hugs all around from his tribe. Host Jeff Probst gathers the pieces of immunity idol. Huh? An immunity challenge already? Nope! Probst tells the contestants to drop their buffs because it’s “time to integrate.” The players are divided by sex and then reach into a bag to grab a small tile. They reveal to see who has tiles with a X on it. Cecilia, Parvati, Brad, and Jonathan each will be the new tribe captains. They will alternate picking players, with the women choosing women and the men choosing men. Hmmm. Cecilia wins rock/paper/scissors and picks first – oh, and she has to pick somebody not from her tribe. She goes with “pretty lady with the dreads.” That would be Jessica. Parvati picks “cutie in the peach” – Jenny. Jessica then picks “the sister on the end,” aka Sundra. Jenny goes with “camouflage” – Cristina. Sundra chooses “yellow” – Becky. Cristina goes with Rebecca. Becky picks Candice and Rebecca is left with Stephannie. Brad picks first for the guys, going with J.P. Jonathan chooses Yul. J.P. pulls in Nate, while Yul goes for Ozzy. Nate can only pick Adam. Ozzy ends up with Cao Boi. The four captains each step forward and pick an egg. Probst has them squish the eggs, which reveal tribal colors. The blue men join the blue women. Same with red men and women. So there are only two tribes, as Jonathan’s group joins Cecilia’s and Brad’s joins with Parvati’s. All of the items previously accumulated will be pooled together and divided evenly among the two new tribes. So that means the tribes are as follows: New Aitu: Jonathan, Yul, Ozzy, Cao Boi, Cecilia, Jessica, Sundra, Becky, and Candice. New Raro: Brad, J.P., Nate, Adam, Parvati, Jenny, Cristina, Rebecca, and Stephannie. We visit new Raro first. Nate is thrilled at the new tribe. But talk quickly moves to how they felt about the original tribal breakdown. J.P. says he thought it was okay because it brought attention to the issue. Stephannie tells us now you don’t see color, you see individuals. Parvati calls them a melting pot. But Brad tells us that while everybody is all smiles and “glad to meet you,” it’s a game and you’re in it to win it. Over at new Aitu, Cecilia gives them a tour of their new home. Jessica is thrilled about the move and the “change of energy” and “vibrations.” She and Cao Boi seem to bond quickly. There’s an interesting pair! Cecilia has a question she’s dying to ask Candice. Yup, you knew it was coming – she talks about what Billy said at Tribal Council. Candice is obviously astounded. “Love at first sight?” she says. Then Cecilia talks about the “I love you” they supposedly exchanged. Candice explains what actually happened – as we saw, after the challenge, Billy said he was going and so they just said, “We love you,” like in a friendly sorry-to-see-you-go way. The others get a kick out of it and rib Candice, saying she led him on. Heh. Back at Raro, Parvati talks about how they got all the buff guys, and she plans to flirt with them. “It’s what I do best.” Everybody’s got a have a skill. She’s particularly working on Nate for starters. Jumping back to Aitu, the plotting has already begun. Becky wants to know if Candice would trust Jonathan in an alliance. Yup. Becky says she totally trusts Yul. Candice figures the four of them and they need a fifth. Becky talks to Jonathan, who in turn says he has Flica (Jessica). They’re good to go! And, apparently, Ozzy, Cao Boi, Cecilia, and Sundra could be in trouble. Jonathan talks to Jessica about aligning with “a couple of the Asians,” and tells Jessica if anybody else approaches her to just say “whatever” or that she’s not thinking about it. She says she’s not thinking about it, but he says he’ll think about it for her. But Jessica is thinking about some things – including that she didn’t feel very comfortable on her tribe to begin with, so why would she feel comfortable in an alliance with her former tribemates?! She says she’s trying to play her cards by going as long as she can without being fake. Becky brings Yul up to date, and also mentions they want to bring in either Ozzy or Cecilia. Uh, that would make it six, not five. Anyway, Yul wants to show Becky that he totally trusts her, so he spills that he found the hidden immunity idol. She obviously thinks that’s very cool. He says something about how he could use it to save her, too. She also says she doesn’t think he should tell anybody else. No kidding! At the Raro tribe, Nate is spear fishing and spies an octopus. He shoots, he scores! It tries to ink its way out of it, but no go, he’s holding on and yelling to shore that he has an octopus. Brad and J.P. go in to help him bring it out, and the octopus decides it likes Brad, wrapping itself around him. But the feeling is not mutual, and the three guys bring the octopus to shore, figuring it’s time for a big meal! They bring it to camp and Parvati shamelessly flirts with Nate. Like she said, it’s what she’s good at. But enough of that, it’s time for the next challenge! The two tribes arrive and are told it’s for immunity. They will be clipped together by a rope and carrying a 15-pound sandFbag on their back. They start on opposite sides of an oval course. On go, they race through knee-deep water, attempting to catch the other side. If they get tired, they can opt out of the challenge, but they have to give their weight to another tribe member. The first tribe to catch the other tribe and tackle an opposing tribe member to the ground wins immunity. There is one more element to the challenge that is in a secret note, which will be revealed after it’s over. And they’re off! Probst points out that it’s an endurance challenge and will wear them out. It’s kind of a hint: don’t try to rush through it. Ah, but Aitu has a plan. Cecilia, Sundra, Candice, and Becky – four of five women – drop out. The men are each carrying double, but they apparently hope they can make up some ground this way. Stephannie drops out for Raro, but Nate encourages his tribemates by insisting the Aitu men will get weak from carrying the double weight. Cristina drops out, as does Jenny. I guess the others aren’t really listening to Nate. Jessica drops out in Aitu and hands her weight to Jonathan, who now has 45 pounds. Parvati drops out for Raro, leaving Rebecca as the only woman left in the challenge. Jonathan hands off 15 pounds to Ozzy as Raro starts to close in. And things are not looking up for Aitu. Jonathan can barely walk and Yul has to help Cao Boi along. At Raro, Rebecca drops out, so it’s all up to the men. But the Raro men continue to press their advantage. Yul suggests to the other Aitu men that they stop and fight because they can’t outrun ‘em. Um. I don’t think that’s right. According to what I heard Probst say, they have to catch the other team and tackle one. Turning around and fighting, to my mind, is not “catching.” Anyway, the point is soon moot, because Raro is just yards away from Aitu. They pick up the pace more and are soon on top of them. Yul turns to try to fight them off, but J.P. slips by and pulls Cao Boi down. Raro wins! What’s the remaining element of the challenge in the note? The winning tribe chooses one member of the losing tribe to go to Exile Island. That person will miss Tribal Council and be safe. They pick Candice. Aww, they love her! Aitu arrives back at camp and Jonathan wonders why on earth Raro picked Candice to go to Exile Island. Yul thinks they were trying to protect her. But what’s more important is that Yul points out to us that she was in his alliance and had numbers. Now, not so much. Ozzy tells Cao Boi he won’t write his name down. Cao Boi says they need each other and they all need to win. Ozzy’s kind of like, well, yeah, but we still have to pick somebody. Cao Boi thinks they need to let Becky go as the weak link, and Ozzy should go talk to the other women about it. So he does, as he walks along the beach with Sundra, Jessica, and Cecilia. “Becky is seriously plotting,” he says, and the women seem to agree. With the three of them, Ozzy, and Cao Boi, they have the numbers. Later, Jonathan checks in with Jessica. She plays it straight with him: “Just so you know, Becky’s going.” Oh, Jessica. Way too much honesty. Jonathan wants to know if she would vote with him if he says to go a different direction. Jessica says she doesn’t have a “good vibe” about Becky. Jonathan tells us he thought he had Flica handled, but she’s doing her own thing. Imagine that, she has a brain of her own. He’s stunned. Jonathan tells Yul they are only three solid and don’t know where Sundra or Cao Boi are at. They plan to see if they can get anybody to switch. If not, all bets are off and they might decide not to stick their necks out. Jonathan tries to pressure Jessica by saying he thought they had a tight bond, etc. Meanwhile, Yul talks to Cao Boi, who says Becky is a “weak link” and “a princess.” Yul says she’s been strong, while Cecilia has not been. Both push the Cecilia idea, saying they’ll then have numbers. Jonathan tries all sorts of logic on Jessica, and it appears to be going in one ear and out the other. I don’t know if it makes sense to listen to him or not, but I don’t think Jessica is even really hearing him. He’d have more luck talking to a tree. Cao Boi tells us he doesn’t like the scheming going on, and then talks to Jessica. She says she has a hard time trusting Jonathan, and Cao Boi agrees. But Cao Boi says they have a point. But he also says the two of them are really not part of a crowd. But, but, but – hell, I don’t even know where he’s going anymore! And Jessica is totally confused as to what she should do. Jonathan says there are different ways to play the game. There is I like you so I won’t vote for you. But there is also I like you but I have to vote for you so I can go further. He’s not sure which will win out. Before we get to Tribal Council, recall that Yul commented earlier about possibly using the hidden idol to help Becky. Since they all know Becky is being targeted, he could give her the idol, watch as the other side votes against her, and then reveal it. Their votes would be canceled and only the votes of Yul, Becky, and Jonathan would count. They’d knock off one of the opposition, and still be four strong when Candice returns. I don’t know if it will happen, but it could. The players arrive at Tribal Council and Probst immediately begins questioning them about the shuffling. Does Jonathan think the fact that tribes had been split along racial lines added anything to the shuffle? Nope. Probst notes that Sundra is the only person from her former tribe, and suggests she has become powerful in that everybody wants her vote because she has no allegiances. I’m thinking the opposite – the others could easily have joined together to pick her off (though we didn’t see that happening). She says essentially the same thing – either valuable or vulnerable. What does Yul think the best direction is for the tribe? He says people have different priorities as to what they’re looking for out of the game. Some are strategizing and came to win, while others came to find a personally fulfilling experience. Jonathan says the people who came for the experience are still playing the game, and those who came to play are having to deal with the personalities and the experience. Is the game more complicated than Jessica anticipated? She says she’s not used to the manipulation aspect of it and trying to figure out what people’s intentions are. Are they being nice or trying to get her on their side? Ozzy is asked how the tribe will be different after the vote. Ozzy should say, “It will have one less person,” but he apparently doesn’t have my sense of humor. So he says he will know where everybody stands in comparison to what they’ve been saying. Probst explains the rules on the hidden idol, in case anybody has it. He says if the person in possession of the idol receives the highest number of votes, they can present it to nullify those votes. Then the person with the second highest vote count is booted. With that, it’s time to vote. Yul votes for Cecilia, saying he’s really sorry but his loyalty is to Becky. Cecilia, meanwhile, votes against Becky, saying it will be better for the tribe. Sundra votes the same, without a word. Becky returns the favor, saying it’s nothing personal, just strategy. Ozzy votes against Becky and says she made no effort to get to know him at all. So I guess for him, it is personal. But it’s not for Jonathan, who says Cecilia is very classy but it’s strategy. Of course, we don’t see Cao Boi’s or Jessica’s votes. But Probst tallies and reads ‘em: Cecilia, Becky, Becky, Cecilia, Cecilia, Becky, Cecilia, Cecilia. Wow. OK, consider me shocked. I thought Becky was going all the way. Cecilia gets a hug from Ozzy before her torch is snuffed and she walks off. Probst says it’s clear the tribe is not unified. Thanks for stating the obvious, Jeff. He continues that this soon in the game, it’s certainly risky. Um. Okay. Not sure where he’s going with that. It’s not like most tribes just line people up and agree on who should go each time. Ah well. Whatever. With those words of confusion, he sends the tribe back to camp. In her last words, Cecilia says the vote was “insane” and a testament as to how quickly the game can change. She has no regrets and had a great time. It was amazing and she got to do things she never thought she’d do. As far as the tribe, she doesn’t think voting her out will strengthen them, but may in fact weaken them. Next time: At Raro, new lines are drawn in a battle of the sexes, with the women working and guys… not so much. At Aitu, Cao Boi goes too far as he raids a bird’s nest and knocks out a baby bird. Jonathan says Cao Boi is a wild man and he doesn’t trust him. Hey, dude, he saved your alliance’s bacon this time around! I have to say, I’m not really sure how Jonathan and Yul pulled this one off. I’m going to have to mull that over for a while. But I have a feeling Cao Boi and Jessica will live to regret it.

Survivor: Cook Islands – Survivor Live, Episode 3 by Brian Towers -- 10/02/2006 Survivor Live gives us another chance to hear from ousted Survivor Cecilia, whose attempt to rally the troops to vote off Becky didn’t quite go over as she expected. Read on to find out how she feels about the other Survivors, especially Jessica, Billy, and Jonathan. It’s time for the third episode of the season of Survivor Live, CBS’s Internet interview show that features the most recently eliminated contestant from Survivor: Cook Islands. Hosted by Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly and Survivor: Amazon winner Jenna Morasca, this week’s guest is the victim of a last-minute voting switch, Cecilia Mansilla. She looks stunning in a red dress with matching lipstick. Let’s begin, as usual, with a trivia question. Since I’m not too inspired by all things Cecilia, I’m diving into my generic bag of questions this week. Here it is: which Survivor winner picked up the most Tribal Council votes (excluding final Tribal Council, of course) throughout their season? As usual, the answer will be near the bottom of this article. Dalton begins the show by alluding to the tribal realignment. Both hosts figure it came way too early, and I agree. When talking with Mark Burnett pre-season, Dalton got the impression the four tribes were going to be in play longer than last season’s gender/age split. Jenna calls it “lame” that the “experiment” was abandoned so early. Cecilia says she knew the boot was coming but was surprised that Cao Boi had flipped his vote. She feels Jonathan was so aggressive in arguing with Jessica, he just wore her down. Jenna doesn’t know why anyone trusts Jonathan. Cecilia reveals that they felt they needed to keep him because they wanted to keep strength around. Dalton thinks it odd that Cao Boi was ready to roll over on one of his original tribemates so early. Dalton brings up last week’s thrown challenge. Cecilia says they didn’t expect Billy to stay loyal after the merge, and “he was sucking the life out of us.” She adds that the way the picking worked out, he probably would have ended up on the other tribe, and that wouldn’t have helped her position any. Well, had he been there as an option, your team could have picked him over Cao Boi… Jenna notes that Ozzy stepped back from his former prominent role to be more of a follower. I’m surprised he didn’t work hard to save a former alliance-mate. Cecilia says that although it wasn’t shown, she was the one who decided “Princess” Becky was going to be the target. Jenna suggests it’s better to lay low and not be doing the dirty work in the early stages of the game. The first caller today is J.P. from Illinois. No, not that J.P.! He notes Cecilia wasn’t shocked when she was voted off and asks her thoughts before, during, and after Tribal Council. Cecilia repeats she wasn’t shocked; she knew Jonathan was winning the battle for Flica’s vote. Cecilia admits she lost some of her spirit and was ready to go. She thought it was about to get ugly and she didn’t want to partake in that. “It’s all about the experience. I got what I wanted, so let me go on to something else.” Oh, please – you deserve to be voted off. Where are the REAL Survivor players? The clip is run of Jonathan trying to get Flica to think strategically. There’s no one home under Flica’s bandana, and I think she’s another non-player who needs to go away. Candice’s name comes up. It’s noted that there was no coverage of her stay on Exile Island. Cecilia informs us that Candice is the smallest player on her tribe and that’s probably why the others chose her as the one to go to Exile Island. Dalton wonders if Aitu’s non-performance in the challenge last week made other players decide that Cecilia was a weak link for challenges in general. Jenna says it’s too early to plan a final five. I have to disagree again. Successful alliances in the Borneo, Africa, and Palau seasons were all formed in the first few episodes. Cecilia points out that many players this season are not fans of the show and don’t have advanced strategies. No, really? She says mostly they just play week to week. Cecilia points out that Yul did all the work to save Becky. Becky did nothing to save herself. Heidi (no, not that Heidi) in North Carolina asks Cecilia her opinion of throwing the challenge. She was definitely in favor of it. She says within 20 minutes of hitting the island, Billy was trying to form conflicting alliances and kept stressing team-negative things such as “he wasn’t Latino, he was metal.” Dalton still hates the idea of throwing a challenge. He agrees that, had they tried, maybe they wouldn’t lose that particular challenge, but how about the next one, or the one after that? Cecilia still doesn’t admit to the possibility that they would lose any challenges in the future. After trying to advance the point twice, Dalton gives up. Young Lindsay from California has skipped school today. She asks all three to name their favorite Survivors from other seasons. Jenna asks Cecilia if she’s seen the show - ha! Cecilia says Cirie, Dalton names Sally from last season, and Jenna names – surprise – Ethan. Jenna adds Big Tom, and Dalton names Rupert and Boston Rob, but from their initial seasons only. Jenna doesn’t care much for Rupert and adds Jerri and Rob Cesternino to her list. Jenna notes the challenge was an exact repeat of recent one, from Palau. She adds that if Cao Boi hadn’t fallen, they might have won. I don’t know about that, but there’s no doubt he was lagging badly and that’s what hurt them. Perhaps he should have dropped out as well? Dalton thinks they made a big tactical error by having the women all bail out so quickly. Cecilia says it was Yul who figured the other team was more physical and this was the way to play it. Cecilia thinks she could have made another lap without losing pace. Cecilia agrees that the other team is more physical (with J.P., Adam, Nate, and also Brad) and calls them “the Beefcake Tribe.” By comparison, Aitu does have Yul but they also have the two older men, Jonathan and Cao Boi. She adds that Ozzy is “super-athletic, but weighs about a buck 50.” Jenna tries to make the point that big doesn’t necessarily mean strong, but Cecilia is pretty sure this challenge was about raw power. I have to agree with Cecilia. Jenna must be back to liking Ozzy; she’s anxious to have the challenge clip run so she can look at Ozzy some more. Dalton is as exasperated with her as I, but he runs the clip. Rebecca was the last woman standing. I’m surprised Flica didn’t last longer. Cecilia says they tried to run at the start, but that was a bad idea. She informs us the challenge only lasted about 15 minutes, and that luckily it was overcast, so it wasn’t unbearably hot. Kane from Ohio asks if anything was not shown in the episode that might explain her boot. Cecilia says she and Ozzy were talking to Cao Boi and Flica, and Jonathan came up to them. She spilled it that Becky was their choice to go. She regrets that she blurted it out; she shouldn’t have revealed the plan. She adds that there was no big reason for Becky to be the one they picked on; she hadn’t done anything wrong, it was just a “not me” thing. Dalton discusses Jenna’s Haterade. Last week it was over the “frat boy mentality” of J.P. and Ozzy. This week, Ozzy is cute again and Jonathan’s aggression is her target. Jenna doesn’t like they way he was getting into Flica’s face. Dalton says, “But you know what? It worked.” Discussing Jonathan, Cecilia says, “He seems to have no qualms about doing whatever it takes. Maybe it wasn’t the best place for me to be, in a reality show that is a contest, but I have a real life to go back to. I don’t want to embarrass myself. I’m going to see these people again and I don’t want it to be all bad, I want it to be positive and good.” Jenna explains, “See, you have to be ready to embarrass yourself on this show.” I’m thinking Cecilia is right; she had no place being on this show, and those of us who are lucky will all forget her quickly. If you can’t “outwit, outplay, outlast,” then you shouldn’t be taking a spot that tens of thousands others covet. Thankfully, moving to our next caller finds Kellen from Kansas. Most of his multi-part question gets ignored, but they do address why Sundra’s name never came up in the boot discussions. Cecilia says Sundra was on her and Ozzy’s side. I think you’d need to ask the five who voted Cecilia out that question. Dalton remembers that Jonathan stole Yul’s chickens, and it’s odd they are now allies. Cecilia again says that Yul and Jonathan probably explained their version of the game to Cao Boi and Flica better than she did. Cecilia saw Flica’s laid-back attitude and thought not pushing her was a better idea. Obviously, that was an error. The caller (Kellen) also mentions that Dalton talked about Cecilia’s socks. Her boyfriend is a ball player and she was “representing with the baseball socks.” Also, she wore the one sock to protect her knee and a badly scraped shin that still has a scar on it. A still from the show shows Flica with two green knee socks pulled up high and Cecilia with one up, one down. Dalton next introduces “Probst’s Thoughts,” where Jeff Probst records a message to the departing player. He starts out hesitantly, choosing his words very carefully. Probst wonders if Cecilia was using sexuality in the game. He thinks Cecilia didn’t realize she had that effect and was playing “a very cagey game.” Cecilia doesn’t know what Jeff is talking about. She admits to flirting with J.P., but it was “innocent and cute.” She adds that Ozzy has a girlfriend. Dalton mentions that Billy is available, but Cecilia wrinkles up her nose and says, “I may take a pass on that.” Jenna mentions Parvati’s flirting, but the jury’s out on its effectiveness. Cecilia mentions how it didn’t work for Misty last season. Jenna says, “It’s never worked since my season.” Jenna adds that she didn’t go into the game planning to flirt, it just developed. Greg from Oakland asks if Cecilia is single (yes, but dating) and if there’s any behind-the-scenes romancing going on (no, just J.P. and her). The third segment always begins with the new “minus ten” feature, where Dalton reads ten categories and Cecilia comments on each in less than ten words. Here’s how it plays out: Throwing challenges – all for it Love at first sight – not so much Mosquitoes – hate them all over me; I’ll have bites for the rest of my life Oakland A’s – go, A’s! Tribal Council – beautiful set; tough to hear some stuff Flirting – may work, may not work Peru – home, family, roots Digging a latrine – soft leaves and a pointy rock Dead Poets Society – my favorite movie; reminds me of my grandfather Dalton’s black-on-black look – wear it; very New York Number eight generates some charming conversation about Survivor potty arrangements. Jenna wonders if anyone still digs a latrine on this show. Cecilia says they didn’t; they were told to just go in the jungle and “mark your hole. You don’t want to dig up somebody else’s surprises.” Katherine from Connecticut asks if it’s ironic that the people Cecilia chose for her team ended up sending her home. Specifically, Cecilia chose Flica with her pick, but Flica voted her out. She wishes she’d ended up on “the Beefcake Tribe.” Dalton says Cao Boi is no conformist, and was surprised he flipped his vote so readily. Cecilia says Jonathan may not have convinced him, but Yul had more influence with him. Remembering how wrong they were last season on this topic, Dalton thinks Cecilia’s tribe is the stronger tribe and may have a better dynamic. Jenna agrees, noting that it does depend on the challenges, which are supposed to be less physical than in some recent seasons. Jenna asks if Candice would have been voted out if she had been there. Cecilia doubts it, as there were three original Raros on the tribe, and with the two Pukas, they’d have had the majority. Dalton wonders how Billy felt watching from home, and segues to the clip of Cecilia telling Candice and the others about Billy’s hidden love. Candice, of course, has no feelings for Billy. Dalton calls it “every man’s nightmare.” It’s also Billy’s nightmare that his team conspired to send him home only to see the teams disband in the next episode! Vicky from Oregon is a new viewer of Survivor Live. She wonders if it was too early for Yul to show Becky the hidden idol. All think so. I agree, as he already had Becky’s allegiance sewn up. Cecilia says they asked Yul if he had the hidden idol and, unable to lie, he changed the subject. Jenna says Yul is too nice to win, and that’s why Ethan likes him. Cecilia confirms that Jeff didn’t explain anything about the hidden idol at Tribal Council. Jason in Indiana asks Cecilia whom she might have taken to the final two. She names Jonathan, reasoning that no one would like him. Asked what she’d do with a million dollars, she says she’d pay off debts and invest the rest. The last caller is Christina from Miami, who wonders what Cecilia missed most from home. It’s Chap Stick and dry socks. She adds, “I got to do things that I would never have done,” and, “I’m not the princess I thought I was.” It’s time for Jenna’s “Question of the Week.” She asks, “What are you going to do now that Survivor is over?” Not much - Cecilia is just going back to her job and her life. She has an increased awareness of family and friends and seeks rich life experiences. She is looking forward to seeing the members of her original tribe at the finale. What, she didn’t see Billy in Loser Lodge? Dalton has the promo clip for next week run. At Raro, new lines are drawn, and Cao Boi goes too far. The former is the beefcakes allying together while the women work, and for the latter, the hosts decide Cao Boi is a culture unto himself. To the strains of Live’s rocking theme, Jenna pancakes us out. We’re done, and not a moment too soon! CBS Website: Here’s the promo items for this week: Feeling vulnerable, Ozzy proves his worth by catching a feast of fish. As the only member left from his original tribe, will this be enough to keep him safe? One tribe finds itself divided: men against women. Can they find a way to pull together and work as a team, or will their division be their downfall? When Candice returns from Exile Island and is questioned about why she thinks she was sent away, she plays dumb and avoids discussing her ties to the other tribe. Will her tribe’s growing suspicions put her in jeopardy, or has she talked her way out of trouble? J.P.’s dominance and controlling demeanor around camp anger some of the women in his tribe. Will this behavior put a target on his back? I also had a quick peek at their “Popularity Poll” results, and two players are far in front of the rest. Perhaps it’s no surprise that Yul leads, but Cai Boi is in second place! And while we’re talking website… all is not well there yet. This show was posted Friday with no picture or sound for the first and third segments. That’s right… over 40 minutes of silent black screen! Furthermore, if you click on the link to other shows for Survivor: Borneo, you get the current season instead. Really, people, if you expect us to care, it needs to be better than this! Trivia Answer: Here’s the answer to my trivia question – last season’s winner Aras picked up eight votes along his path to victory. No, not all from Terry – though he did contribute three of them.

Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 3 MVPs – Melting Pot by Betsy Wasser -- 10/05/2006 Four tribes became two, and everyone had to rework their strategy and form new relationships. That didn’t go so well for some of the castaways, but others rose to the occasion. Who are this week’s Most Valuable Players? Read on. The big twist of dividing the tribes by race lasted, as I predicted, a whopping three episodes. Frankly, I’m disappointed. If you’re going to have the guts to do something controversial and potentially interesting like that, then stick with it. Let us see how things play out. At least keep the tribes split like that for a few more episodes. My frustration aside, we are now down to two tribes. The players all talked about how energized they felt and what a great opportunity it was, but not everyone has handled that opportunity well. Who’s coming out on top? Who are the Most Valuable Players of the two tribes? For Raro, Parvati most certainly does not get the MVP award for her pitiful attempts to flirt with all of the men. She said in an interview that she had Adam “from the beginning,” all evidence of his closer bond with Candice to the contrary, and announced her intention to work on Nate next. First of all, it’s rather close quarters there on the island. Didn’t Parvati realize that Adam might see her flirting with Nate and figure out that she’s not 100% sincere? Wouldn’t her strategy be awfully transparent? And her attempts to seduce Nate were pretty pathetic. Her opener was to tell him that his pants were falling down. Um, sexy? Not really. Later, she literally batted her eyes at him and suggested he could eat the whole octopus by himself. Not cute, not sexy, and not subtle. She might as well have told him directly, “Hey, I intend to flirt with and flatter you to secure your favor!” The girl needs to work on her technique in a big way. She is not nearly as clever as she thinks she is. Nate, however, did quite well for himself on Raro. Not surprisingly, he doesn’t seem especially swayed by Parvati’s supposed powers of seduction and is keeping a clear head. Even better, he managed to spear a gigantic octopus for the tribe. A lot of players would have tried to keep as much of that glory to themselves, so they could crow about feeding the tribe, but when Nate needed help wrestling the octopus in, he wasn’t afraid to ask for it. That was smart, as ego could have cost the tribe a hearty meal. Personally, I wouldn’t be that excited to eat octopus. I don’t even like calamari, but hey – they’re hungry. Nate came across as a big hero, and for that reason, he is the winner of the MVP award for Raro. Nice going, Nate. At Aitu, there was a lot of maneuvering going on. Becky and Candice quickly decided to pair up, bringing along with their former tribemates Yul and Jonathan. Jonathan had a pretty good plan to get Flica on their side by telling her that she’d go to the final five with them, and that she’d have a secret final three alliance with him and Becky. That’s a good offer, one most players would be amenable to. The problem is that Flica was the wrong person to approach. As soon as Jonathan mentioned alliances, she said she wasn’t thinking along those lines, that she was “here to make friends and see what happens.” Uh-oh. To make matters worse, Raro exiled Candice, meaning Jonathan, Yul, and Becky needed not only Flica, but also someone else. Jonathan never should have assumed that Flica, a person whose philosophy varies so wildly from his own, could be manipulated, at least not be the same arguments that might have convinced him. Flica made that even more clear when Jonathan suggested that she think ahead and she explained that she doesn’t work that way. As the group discussed at tribal council, there are two approaches to Survivor. One is to look at Survivor as an experience. The other is to look at it as a game. Jonathan, who is looking for a million dollar payout, is having a hard time relating to Flica, who wants to meet different people, see the Cook Islands, and so on. While Jonathan tried to sway Flica before tribal council, Yul talked to Cao Boi. Cao Boi explained that he wanted to vote out Becky because she’s weak at challenges. Considering that none of the women performed all that well in this immunity challenge and that Puka won their previous challenges, I’m not sure where he was coming from. Yul might not have either, but he made a good move in speaking Cao Boi’s language. Instead of talking about alliances, friendship, or trust, he argued that Cecilia was weaker. That was a point Cao Boi was willing to consider, which was very smart of Yul. Yul also offered that they could get rid of Becky later down the line. He might not have meant it, but if Cao Boi really wanted to boot Becky, the door was still open. Jonathan tried to get Flica to change to his way of thinking, but Yul adapted to Cao Boi’s way of thinking in order to change his mind. By swaying Cao Boi, Yul also managed to get Flica on their side. Flica and Jonathan absolutely don’t relate to each other, but she and Cao Boi get along great. Both of them are used to feeling like outsiders, and that bonds them together. Whatever Yul said to Cao Boi resonated with him enough for him to convince Flica to change her vote. Yul was thrown into a tough situation. The tidy alliance he thought he’d set up fell apart when Candice was sent to Exile Island. Worse, Flica, the person Jonathan proposed adding, was unpredictable. He could have saved Becky at tribal council by giving her the secret immunity idol, but hanging onto it was, of course, a much better option. Jonathan took the wrong approach with Flica, and it could have hurt their alliance. But Yul handled Cao Boi so skillfully that he was able to not only secure Cao Boi’s vote, but also Flica’s. Yul adds another MVP award to his trophy shelf.

Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 3’s Missing Intelligence Award by Heathyr Fields Ford -- 10/03/2006 Our Survivors were shuffled from four racially-divided teams down to two diverse teams. New teams mean many opportunities for missing intelligence. Who did Heathyr find lacking the most? You know it had to come from the losing tribe, so click here to find out! Well, we doubled the amount of time the start-off “twist” lasted from one Survivor to the next. Two whole episodes of four teams. Woo hoo. I still think three to four episodes makes it a twist. One or two makes it a slight curve in the road. Ah well, what do I know? Shaking it up definitely, well, shakes it up, however, which makes for a fun episode. We saw some scrambling and shifting going on. Some people made good choices, others didn’t, others tried, but along the way screwed up in their tactics, which might come and bite them later. Who then gets the MIA this week? Let’s find out! Cao Boi and Jessica, you are my runners-up for this week’s award. First off, on principle alone, people who are all “gee, groovy, baby, I’m just here totally for the experience” grate. You’re playing a game. Play it. There are thousands of others who want the experience and the game, so get off my screen. Secondly, neither of you seem to want to adapt socially. I hate to break it to you, but in real life as well as Survivor you sometimes have to adapt, tone down, whatever. It’s just how life is. It doesn’t make you less “true” to yourself; it makes you socially responsible. However, the big reason you are here as a runner-up is because as a duo, you made a huge mistake in my book. Yul, Becky, Candice, and Jonathan are a seemingly solid four. They only needed a fifth person to sway the numbers this time and the next time. Then the fifth person becomes extraneous. With Candice on Exile Island, they needed two more, and they got them. When Candice returns, however, they don’t need both of you. They can force a tie if you swap back to Ozzy. Or, they can play you both and get rid of one of you next and still have a majority of four. You have become extraneous fluff to them. To Ozzy and Sundra, you are betraying fluff. In desperation, however, they’ll have to reach out to you. The two of you better hope that Ozzy and Sundra want you, and that one of the foursome gets sent to Exile Island so suddenly you have the numbers. And this time, you better not flip on them again. Otherwise, your time in the game should be short in my book, and that makes what you did a dumb move, and MIA worthy. Why then aren’t the two of you winning? Because I think Jonathan may have shown even less intelligence then you in some ways. Jonathan reads people badly. That’s the only conclusion I can draw after this episode. Everything about Jessica’s body language screamed “I AM NOT TRUSTING YOU” in their first conversation. Then, he had the idiocy to be surprised when she told him Becky was going? To top it off, he browbeat Jessica some in trying to convince her of the rightness of his way. Guess what? YOUR way, Jonathan, is not good for her. It is good for your foursome. Flaky and annoying she may be, but to truly get someone on your side, you have to offer what’s best for them (or lie about it). Dude, did you not realize Jessica was not hearing a damned word you said? She looked like my 10-year-old when we’re chewing her butt. Whiny, pouty, and not at all paying attention. You were so much white noise, and that was it. Unless you fix it, this bodes poorly for you. Yul swayed Cao Boi somehow (that still shocks me), who then swayed Jessica. This doesn’t shock me, because Cao Boi knew how to play Jessica. He recognized her type (it’s like him) and she trusted him, so when he said, “let’s do this” she vacillated some, but ultimately agreed. I don’t think Jonathan alone would have convinced her. Heck, I think Jonathan’s work alone might have convinced her to tell the other group to vote for Jonathan because of his bossiness! Jessica now can have time to sit back and think and feel “bad vibes” about what she did and how you treated her. She now might flip on you, especially if you come off any more like that “guy who knows best and you’d better come my way” sort. THAT GUY needs to disappear. By going back the second time to pound your way into her head, you win this Missing Intelligence trophy for the week for the long-term ramifications it might have on your game.

An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 3: You're Breakin' My Heart by Mike DeGeorge -- 10/05/2006 With the merge comes the end of the grand social experiment that was Survivor: Race Baiting, and now the producers will have to rely on the personalities of the castaways to interest people. Mike has a few words to say about that, as you might expect, plus the usual Insider clips and Tribal Council votes, all inside! To say that I’m not enthusiastic about this season would be a wild understatement. This has been an excruciatingly bad few weeks, and anyone who has been reading me for any length of time knows I’m going to blame it squarely on the casting. Looking for races instead of personalities has doomed this season to the also-ran bin. And for what? A couple days of publicity and some upset sponsors? Do you honestly think that people WOULDN’T have talked about Survivor had it not been for the racial divide? Of course not. They’re either getting lazy about their twists, or they’re panicking over the declining ratings – after thirteen seasons. Who among us didn’t think that the tribes would merge after a couple of episodes? Honestly, was the publicity really that worth it? Someone in marketing explain it to me, please. A few months ago, I wrote an article about how to freshen up American Idol. I’m not going to get into that amount of detail, but here are a few ideas, off the top of my head, that are infinitely better than the twists they’ve had lately: Take a page out of Lost - bring in two tribes, competing separately, each one thinking they’re the only tribe in the game. Or have a small tribe of “others” playing the game separately, and instead of a merge, insert them in. You could create an outcast tribe of those voted off, whose sole mission is to beat the Survivors and keep them from getting reward or immunity. This “extra tribe” scenario, in my mind, offers limitless possibilities Have one large tribe from the beginning, all individual challenges. I’ve been screaming for this forever, and I suppose I’ll just have to keep screaming. Like Amazing Race, mix up the eliminations. Do a challenge – say, a run through a deep mud pit – where the last man and last women are banished. And allow physical contact. Again, just a couple off the top of my head. I’m sure the readers can come up with some as well, right? Cecilia’s Final Words: I must say that I’m very disappointed that more people didn’t make the obvious musical reference. I guess I’m just getting old. She did crazy things that she never thought she’d do and never will do again. But she has no regrets, she had a great time. She hopes J.P. or Cristina or Ozzy win, they deserve it. The vote is a testament to how quickly the vote can change. Four hours ago, they had a consensus on who was going home, now she’s going home. The tribe dynamics were good, so she thinks her leaving will weaken the tribe. Cecilia, the Day After: She feels there is a lot more that she could have helped her tribe with. This is quite annoying, as she talks like the snotty cousin chick on Fresh Prince. What? My stepkids watch it constantly, all right? Sheesh. May I continue? Thanks. They made a mistake in voting her off, not just in terms of strength, but for smarts and strategy as well. She tried to play with integrity. To vote someone (her) out just to go a little farther, she would have kept her word. Okay. She’s not upset, it was a game. After the tribes merged, the whole dynamic changed. Thank you Captain Obvious! This was a very weird edit, as this sentence seemed stuck in out of nowhere. She says that the strength wasn’t as evenly distributed among the tribes anymore. She goes on more about character, and I’m zoning out. Suffice to say that she blames her exit on people being liars and obviously she would never do that. Cristina had great character, apparently. Her best time was the first five or six days when they had to build their home. It was before the strategy of the game came into play. She was surprised at how much she was able to bond with others. There are a few people who will become close friends. She may come off as nice and sweet on the island (BWAAAH!) but she’s really bitchy. That didn’t surface. Sure. She was proud that she was able to be human and show emotion. She lives her life in a shell sometimes. This woman is making no sense. Maybe she’s too preoccupied with swatting the insect around her head to form a coherent thought? Oh, in case you forgot, she won’t take things for granted. I was getting worried there. She’ll remember the people. She proved that she is able to adjust and adapt. Yul Interview on Exile Island: He’s debating on whether or not to tell people that he’s found the idol (which, in case you couldn’t see it on the show, looks like an old compass). He’s inclined to tell Brad and Becky, but it might be a huge mistake. Lying is not ideal at this point either, as he wants to play with integrity. The First Merge: Nyargh. Enough said. Steeple Chase: Steeple chase? Isn’t that the horse race with huge jumps? What the hell does that have to do with anything? In any case, a return of a great challenge, but due to, well, lack of competitiveness I suppose (see above) it flopped. Parvati Interview: Do you think she hates J.K. Rowling in the same sense that the geek in Office Space hated Michael Bolton? In any case, she’s pretty hot, but the combination of her voice and her bitchy demeanor makes me want to strand her on Exile Island, permanently. She loves the tribe. I care. Everyone is really cool, everyone has something unique to add, plus the tribes are really strong. She decided to get close to Nate. She’s a flirty girl and guys respond to that. If I thought the editing above was odd, she can’t go two sentences without getting edited! Brad is really funny, so she’s had a lot of conversations with him. They both like to shop and talk about clothes. She has a lot of gay guy friends. She’s a fag hag? She knows how to work gay guys as well. She’s got a lot of tricks up her sleeve, she’s not just limiting herself to heterosexual men. Ugh, someone hit her with a shovel, please? She doesn’t want to look like a manipulator… yet. Too late. They sent Candice because she would be safe, and she looked like the weakest link because she’s so scrawny. Kettle, meet pot. She says some of the women there are muscular. She’s glad they saved her. But she’s worried about her on Exile Island. She’s not sure if she can survive. But she’ll be fine, she’s a nature girl, she can build a fire. Condescend much? Is there anyone left on this show I don’t hate? Candice on Exile Island: Well, Candice is really hot, so we’ll see. She’s a little tired and thirsty. No one ever wants to be on Exile Island, but she’d rather be there than at Tribal Council. She’s really glad they sent her. She thinks her friends there were looking out for her. Yikes. Her tribe is a lot younger, and she’s the youngest person. She was feeling a little out of the loop on her old tribe, so she’s glad they saved her. She’s not sure if she trusts her new tribe. It feels really good to know that she still has friends there. She misses her best friends in the game, Parvati and Adam. Whoops. She felt like an outsider in her new tribe, she can’t wait to get back to her friends. Her strategy is to keep her mouth shut and pull her weight, not to be an obvious threat. It’s easier when there are nine people, since other people tend to jump on jobs. She’ll lay low until she finds out who she can trust (the answer is, of course, NO ONE). Hopefully when she comes back they’ll still have the five on her side, and either Cecilia or Ozzy will go. The worst thing that could happen is if Becky were voted out. If Jonathan were voted out, she and Jonathan supposedly have an alliance, but in her gut she doesn’t trust him. Becky is in control, doing most of the talking for the group. She connected with Yul, and Candice and Becky were drawn together. Becky is probably most solid for Candice, because Becky knows they’re together. Becky Interview: Her first thought after the merge was to try to figure out who she could trust. She knew that Ozzy and Cecilia would be tight, and her first instinct was to trust Yul and Cao Boi. Then she was talking with Candice and found out that she was close to Jon. With her being close to Yul, they knew they had a solid four. The other tribe does have a lot of brawn. They tried to compare the other tribe’s members to their tribe. They thought they could match up well. They wanted to break up Ozzy and Cecilia, as they had a tight bond, and as a numbers thing. They wanted to cut down the Latino tribe’s numbers for the merge. Her alliance is looking at Cecilia, because she’s the leader and Ozzy is good at catching fish. Ozzy is pretty athletic and decisive, she likes that about him. She hopes, obviously, that she doesn’t go home, but it’ll be interesting to see how many vote for Cecilia. She wonders if her name comes up, will Yul step up and save her? She questions using the idol this early in the game. She doesn’t give up, she’s going to fight as long as she can. Tribal Council Votes: Did they do the right thing? Eh, who cares! An annoying person is gone, so huzzah. Yul votes for Cecilia: “I’m really sorry to be sending you home. You seem like a wonderful person, I just haven’t gotten the chance to know you very well in the last 24 hours. The vote was either going to you or Becky, and between the two of you, my loyalty is to Becky because I’ve known her for longer and obviously we have a strong friendship and alliance.” Cecilia votes for Becky: “Nothing personal, I think you’re amazing, and mumble.” After last week, I’m not bothering. Sundra votes for Becky: “I’m only writing your name down because I know you’re not going home tonight.” Okay? Becky votes for Cecilia: “Nothing personal, I’m just doing this as far as strategy to move forward in this game.” Ozzy votes for Becky, after a long pause and resignation: “You haven’t made any effort to try to connect with me or get to know me.” Cao Boi votes for Cecilia: “I’m sorry, but there’s a bigger picture, and we’re all in danger from the schemer. You’re the first sacrifice. Hopefully from here on, we can defeat the schemer and the good people may have a chance to play this game longer.” Jonathan votes for Cecilia: “You’re a very classy lady, this is nothing personal. It’s just strategy.” Jessica poutingly votes for Cecilia, and whispers how she’s sorry she has to vote for her like she’s exchanging spy codes or something.

Survivor: Cook Islands – Not Feeling the Hate by Ken Kellam III -- 10/03/2006 Almost every edition of Survivor has had a bona fide villain, someone you loved to hate and couldn’t wait to see get voted off. But is there anyone in the current cast to stir up such emotions? Read along and see if Ken can find someone to loathe. Those who have read me for a while know that occasionally I like to break out in song in this space. But this time, there’s really no one who inspires me for better or worse, except maybe Yul, and that itself is a reason to “get musical.” I was going to rewrite the words to Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” to complain about the lack of someone to root for. But then I remembered Yul, and frankly, he comes as close as anyone in this cast to being some to root for. Still, the same complaint can be made on the other end of the spectrum. Has anyone really stood out yet as truly unlikable? Let’s go ahead and give Bonnie some new lyrics: “Where have all the bad men gone? / Is treachery so dead? Where’s the Jonny Fairplay / To claim his grandma’s dead? Or what about a Jerri / To lie about poor Kel? I’m on the hunt for evil / And it isn’t going well I need a villain, I need a villain that I’d like to shoot And he’s gotta be bad and he’s gotta tell lies And make me pray that he gets the boot.” Or maybe we could rewrite the old Jefferson Airplane tune, “Somebody to Love.” “Don’t you want somebody to hate? Don’t you need somebody to hate? Wouldn’t you love somebody to hate? You better find somebody to hate.” Let’s look at the current cast and check out the loathe-ometer on each one. First of all, there’s the now-departed Cecilia. There was never any behavior on her part to indicate a sinister side. In fact, how must she feel after she welcomed the new tribe members to her tribal home, only to have them throw her out? But what’s done is done. It should be pointed out that at Tribal Council, the former members of the Hispanic and African-American tribes voted Becky, while the former members of the Asian-American and Caucasian tribes voted Cecilia. Make of that what you will. Then there’s Jessica/Flica. Yes, she’s a bit eccentric, but there’s a place in the world for eccentrics, and despite the comparisons, she’s not nearly as annoying as Courtney. Even her indecisiveness on the vote can’t be counted as treachery because it was actually easy to feel for her and the dilemma she was facing. By the way, how ironic was it that Cecilia told Jessica to follow her gut, and Jessica apparently did, and voted Cecilia? D’oh! Then there’s Sundra. After three episodes, it’s hard to have strong feelings about her either way so far. You can question her and Rebecca for excluding Stephannie when the game started, but so far, I can’t really remember her dissing anyone. What about her tribemate Becky, who was the subject of an attempted ouster? She may be weak, or at least some teammates perceive her that way, but that doesn’t make her a villain. However, if she sells Yul out in the name of the immunity idol, that may well change in the eyes of some viewers. As far as Candice goes, her behavior towards Billy, in my opinion, doesn’t make her a villain, and neither does her explanation of her actions when asked about it. You can’t even call her a villain for being lazy last week. After all, Gervase was lazy in Palau Tiga, and he never came across as a villain, even after comparing women to cows. What about the men in the new Aitu? Jonathon did his share of plotting and scheming, and even got somewhat irritated with Jessica/Flica, but it’s understandable as to why. Even when he took charge and started working on a new floor after returning from Exile Island, he didn’t berate those who didn’t help. Not even his allegedly thievery of another tribe’s chicken can be considered true villainy because, as he noted, it was so wild when everyone was trying to gather supplies, it wasn’t clear what belonged to whom. Cao Boi accused Jonathon of being rather manipulative, but what did he expect? During an online version of the game, a friend and I were accused of being manipulative as well, to which he answered, “Well, duh! It’s Survivor!” Yul? As discussed before, Yul may be the player in this game to beat, and root for, not against. Once he found the immunity idol, he established himself as possibly this season’s Terry from the previous season. Ozzy? Well, he did bite the head off a bat, pee on the Alamo, and use the “F word” more times than… oh, wait, wrong Ozzy. Cristina became irritated with him and called him a “know-it-all,” but the fact was, he DID know it all, and was trying his best to be nice about it. It will be interesting, however, to see how he fares in the new tribe, since it includes fellow Alpha male Yul, and since Ozzy was on the wrong end of the vote at Tribal Council. Then, of course, there’s Cao Boi. Frankly, I don’t seem him as a villain so much as an eccentric. True, he doesn’t shut up, and tells jokes even when others express their displeasure, but while he may be annoying, that isn’t exactly a synonymous with evil. Yes, he did call Becky a princess when talking to Yul about the vote, but that was most likely just game play. What about the new Raro tribe? Let’s start with Parvati. Some may see her evil for using her sexuality to attempt to charm the guys, but if the guys fall for it (and it’s not clear they will), they’re getting what they deserve. By the way, how ironic is it that in next week’s previews, she complains about the men not working, when that’s what she, Candice, and Adam were guilty of when Jonathon and Flica were building the floor? Jenny? I still have no feelings about her, good or bad. That tells me she may get more camera time as the series continues, and hence stick around awhile. As far as Cristina goes, the way she stomped off when Ozzy came up with an idea that worked didn’t do much for her in the PR department. However, she did vote with Ozzy at the last Tribal Council, albeit unsuccessfully. Hopefully she won’t behave in the new tribe the way she did in episode two. Nevertheless, her behavior can be filed under “annoying,” but not necessarily villainous. Then there’s Rebecca. Her exclusion of Stephannie in episode one was questionable, as was the decision to oust Sekou. But it’s hard to classify someone as a villain after she’s the last female left in an immunity challenge as physical as the last one. If she and her former tribemates do feel pressure to carry the mantle of the African-American community, she should feel proud of the way she “represented.” What about Stephannie? So far, she helped vote out Sekou, and was on the bubble when the game started, but she did help get fire in episode two, and so far, there’s not much to mark her as a villainess. Brad proved his mettle during the immunity challenge, and so far has yet to rock the boat, so there’s really no reason to root against him. Nathan probably benefited most from the tribal switch, as he was most likely out if his old tribe lost another challenge. His battle against the octopus doesn’t mark him as a bad guy because he was simply trying to obey the rule about providing food. It does, however, remind me of an All in the Family episode where a friend offers Meathead some octopus, and he declines, making the excuse that he had some for breakfast. When his friend asks him where, he stammers and says, “Uh, uh, McDonalds… yeah, Octopus McMuffin.” Although he wasn’t about to eat the eight-armed creature, something tells me Nate’s tribemates will dig right in. Has J.P. engaged in villainous behavior? He did help throw the challenge and lead the charge against Billy, but while that may have not been the smartest move strategically, it doesn’t make him a villain. And let’s not forget he was the one who pulled down Cao Boi to secure the challenge win for his new tribe. Finally, there’s Adam. So far, he’s been very obviously close to Candice, and was lazy when Jonathon was working on the floor. Indeed, Adam even made a spectacle of complaining about the floor, not understanding its necessity. But this week, he was rather quiet, so any “villain” labels will have to wait another week, at least. Before we wrap things up, I’d like to present the Line of the Week. That comes from longtime RNO reader Scott, who made the following observation about the Candice/Billy non-affair: “Poor Billy. Candice’s ‘we love you’ had all the emotional intensity of a diner waitress calling you ‘Hun.’” Whenever a reader comes up with a line I wish I’d thought of, I just have to acknowledge it. Speaking of which, did anyone else notice that Cao Boi said to new tribemate Flica, “You’re not Asian. I love you. I think you’re awesome”? First of all, how does he know she’s awesome when he’s known her all of, what, two, three days? Second, if and when she gets the boot, will she talk about “love at first sight” between her and Cao Boi, and how he told her she was awesome? Remember, he said “I,” not “we,” unlike Candice. No, I don’t think he meant THAT kind of love, but it would be rather ironic, and even humorous.