OK, Survivor fans, I'm having a bit of a Survivor problem. If you've read this for a while, you know that I'm all about playing the game for the game and not about "morally" playing the game, or who "deserves" to win or who "played with integrity", blah blah blah. On the other hand, voting Brenda out last night was harsh. It was mean. Was it a good move? Remains to be seen.... But mean! And blindsides are usually great, right? This one made me feel a little dirty to watch. This one held no satisfaction. This one was just sad.
Here's how it went down:
It was the family episode. Did you cry? I did. I bawl every single time. For real. I'm a total sucker for this stuff. I mean, it's not like they've been away from their families for years, right? It's not like they're in the freakin' gulag. And it's like, day 36... they're going home soon. But, still, every time those family videos are shown and then the moms/dads/brothers/sisters/husbands/wives/kids run out of the jungle and into the Survivors' arms, it's pretty much IMPOSSIBLE not to get a little teary. If you don't, you may be made of cardboard. You might want to check into that. Even my ex-boyfriend Jeff Probst got teary-eyed when Brenda met up with her dad and told him that she's been following his advice to be humble. (Which, by the way, did her in in the end. Way to go, dad!) (Kidding.) Jeff said it's the first time in 26 seasons that he's broken... What the hell, Jeff? Perhaps he checked into that whole "made of cardboard" thing. See? Or perhaps he's more human now that he has a daytime talk show?
Anyway... Brenda & her dad kicked butt at the challenge and won. It was pretty cute, her telling her dad how proud of him she was. Then there was Dawn & her hubby telling each other "I love you" WHILE they were running... and Cochran's mom, who pretty much just walked the challenge and used the time to catch up with Cochran. So cute. And every time I say how much the family challenge humanizes the Survivors and makes them not just characters on a show, but real people with families who love them. You almost wish you could have seen the families of some of those other guys... like Philip, or Julia, or Malcolm's oddball brother again...
As expected, Brenda got to pick one other Survivor and their loved one to go on a reward BBQ with her. She chose her closest ally, Dawn and her hubby. Yay, right? Wrong. In a cruel Survivor twist, it was revealed that each person got a second loved one to be there. And Brenda was told she could give up the reward for her & Dawn and give the reward instead to the other four losers... erm, competitors, and their families. She didn't have to think about it long, she chose to give up the reward.
Dawn was particularly choked about this. She didn't get to see her husband & one of her twelve kids (I don't know how many she has... I think it's a lot.) and she also didn't get to have the 'glory' of being the saviour who gave everyone the reward. But instead of just sucking it up and maybe being gracious to Brenda for picking her in the first place (and let's face it, she probably would have done the same thing....) she instead cried, pouted and was generally miserable. Brenda (who also didn't get to see her own family or eat great food) had to talk her up. And let's go over this again... it's day 36. You're going home shortly. You'll be OK.
Then there was the immunity challenge. It was an endurance one, which we know Brenda excels at. It was down to Brenda & Dawn. The plan, as far as Brenda was aware, was to just beat Eddie and then vote him out. So Dawn tries to make a deal with Brenda - let me have the immunity. I've never won one. Brenda initially says no, but then falls in the water. She tells us later that she meant to fall in the water to give the immunity to Dawn - her closest ally, let's remember - and keep her happy instead of paranoid and crazy. Seems like a good plan, right? Wrong. The lesson here is NEVER EVER EVER give up immunity.
All of a sudden, Cochran spearheads the idea to get rid of Brenda because she's a huge threat who's just done a super nice thing to garner herself favour from the jury. On paper, he's right. Brenda is a huge threat in challenges. Cochran gets Sherri to go along (like that's difficult) and then talks to Dawn about it. Dawn talks about playing her own game vs. going Cochran's way, as that did her in last time. And what did she do? She went Cochran's way and voted for Brenda. Erik, by the way, voted Eddie with Brenda. Eddie, forever clueless, voted Erik. Brenda got up, stunned and said, "That hurts," and left, crying. And it wasn't that sort of crying where you feel like, oh come on now, you got voted out fair & square. It hurt ME. I felt Brenda's pain. She had totally just taken one for the team. She had trusted Dawn. Dawn, especially, who had wailed for Brenda when her stupid teeth fell out. Remember? Brenda got them for her and Dawn said she'd never write Brenda's name down. And again... here's where I'm having trouble with my own viewpoint on this game... It isn't about friends or warm-fuzzies. It's about winning a million dollars. But, still, voting out Brenda AT THAT TIME was a total dick move.
And here's the thing. Everyone knows it's a dick move. At the end of the day, people do have to respect your game and it's going to be tough to talk your way out of that one. Sherri... well whatever. Cochran can maybe talk his way out of it because he'll talk about making the right strategic move at the right time. Dawn... I don't think she can get out of this one. You can't backstab your bestie and get away with it. Well, OK, Boston Rob did it, but that's Boston Rob. Dawn is not Boston Rob. Erik, on the other hand, was not a part of this vote. I'm still on Erik or Cochran to win. Erik has played an almost perfect game. Cochran's was close, but he's a good talker and people love a good story. Eddie... well hopefully they know he's actually a bit of a threat if he gets to the end, right? Do they not get this? Eddie has pals on the jury: Reynold, Malcolm and Andrea. Those three votes could be yours if you get rid of Eddie, so why not get him out first, then Brenda? (Well, I know, it's because Brenda is morel likely to win immunity than Eddie, but still, it saves you from looking like a backstabbing jerk.)
It remains to be seen. And I need to get my head around this.
Don't forget the finale is on Sunday. While we're at it, can we talk about having the finale every year on Mother's Day, CBS? What is up with that? That's a dick move, too.
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