December 02, 2003
Survivor Pearl Islands
I haven't written about Survivor in a few weeks. So here goes. Warning, there are Spoilers in "Continue reading..." and probably in Comments too.
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Like most everyone, I was sad to see Rupert go. But it was inevitable. I keep reminding people that you don't "win" Survivor, you "survive". All Players have now seen, in past seasons, that the Jury respects someone who "plays well" so the group is motivated to kill off anyone who might be more admired when it gets down to just two. Rupert was clearly working hard to play the game and inevitably, that would make him a target.
Now, about the "big lie". I've loathed Jon from the very start, just like most everyone. But I have to admit that his "dead grandmother" ruse is pure genius.
Another Survivor strategy, that has evolved over the seasons, is the idea that you want to try and be in the final two with someone who is disliked. I figured that was why they were keeping Jon around. Cause in the long run he was so obnoxious that he'd be no threat.
But now he finds himself, potentially, in the unique position of being most loathed, but also having pulled off the most clever tactic ever. Even if he keeps the dead granny lie a secret for the whole game, he's possibly made himself a very sympathetic character. He clearly plans to milk this for all he can.
[The possible spoiler here is that Jeff Probst has never liked John, and seems willing to out him. At Tribal Council he showed absolutely zero compassion to this player who had apparently suffered a tragic personal loss. The question is will anyone get the hint, and start questioning Jon's story.]
One interesting scenario would be if, god forbid, it got down to Jon and someone else in the final two, and the Jury voted for Jon out of sympathy... then we cut to the live TV version of that final Council, and now the Jury has all seen the shows, and know they've been made fools. That dynamic would be interesting.
Posted by jghiii at December 2, 2003 01:38 PM