Episode 8 - “Thy Name is Duplicity”

“9 members of Rattana are left, tonight, one more will go.” - Probst

Day 22

“It was my idea to get rid of Gretchen cause I thought she was the next leader” - Rudy

“She had to go because, she, is bright, and is strong, and she was a threat.” - Rich

“This is a game, don’t take it personally.  People came here to make, you know, bosom buddies, and lifelong friends, they should have gone to summer camp.” - Kelly

As the episode begins Sean, Gervase, and Greg are shocked at the voting and outraged at the idea of alliances.  The only person from the old Pagong that seems to have embraced what happened and come up with a new strategy was Jenna.  Jenna’s strategy is to pursue the women’s vote.  Smart.  After seeing what happened to Gretchen, Jenna knows she needs to do something to help herself in the game.  

RICH’S STRATEGY

As most of the castaways scramble to understand the alliance and the way the game is playing out in front of their eyes, Rich again employs his strategy of being the provider.  His success spear fishing nets a ray, a rainbow fish, and even a little sand shark (not sure what kind). 

“I could eat rice for 17 more days.  I could eat rice the whole time.  But, they’re loving the fish and it seems to make people feel great.  And I squeeze every ounce of credit out of it I can.” - Rich

 You can’t help but wonder how the fish must taste straight out of the ocean, filleted on the beach, and cooked on an open fire.  It looks delicious and must taste even better.  

GREG’S STRATEGY

“I’m seeing Greg in a much more devious way than I’ve ever seen before.” - Jenna

The game changes and so do the players.  It isn’t surprising to hear Jenna talk about how different Greg is at Rattana versus who he was back at Pagong.  It must be difficult to set up camp, share a “home” with one group, and be on one team and then all of a sudden abandon that place, structure, and atmosphere to move to the other team’s home.  It’s the ultimate away game.  Think about it, you have been competing against this group of people for over two weeks and now you are forced to live with them on their turf.  Not surprised to see the fake phone calls have stopped.  His jokes must not have good service on Tagi’s beach.

“This game is interesting in that you make friends with people, you make alliances and then you have to cut them loose at some point.” - Greg

Greg proves his understanding of the bigger game.  Greg and his pet kitten Colleen have gotten along from the get go, but he knows that she can only be a pawn in his game.  At some point he will need to dispose of her for his own benefit.  Even though Greg knows the game and sees the harsh realities that the future holds, it doesn’t sit well with him.  He’s almost fighting the morality of the game.  This is where him and Rich differ greatly.  Rich wants to control the game through his alliances and collective voting and Greg wants to stop Rich.   

“He’s manipulative.  He’s trying to win me over in some way, he’s just not going about it  in bright enough a way for me.  I would like to spend more time with him and get to know him, but I would also rather have the $1 million than to have someone like him around to worry about.” - Rich

Rich sees Greg as a threat.  He likes Greg and respects Greg, but in the end Rich’s bottomline is his own game.  In Rich’s game there is only one goal and Greg is a major hurdle in the way of Rich obtaining his goals.  My guess is Greg will be Rich’s next target at tribal council.

REWARD CHALLENGE - Archery contest

The winner of the archery contest gets to watch their entire video from home.  We learn that Richard has a son, Greg’s sister is kind of whacky like he is, Sue’s husband is a cheesy poet, Colleen seems even younger than she looks, Rudy’s wife is proud of him, Sean’s got a nickname for his car, and Gervase has an adorable daughter.  In these VCR videos (in 2000 we still used those?) the castaways became real people.  This glimpse behind the curtain into their real lives helps us relate to them.  They have families and people back home waiting for them just like we would.   And then the most beautiful and heartwarming sequence through 8 episodes was popped like a balloon.  Jenna’s family never submitted a tape.  An apologetic Jeff Probst breaks the tragic news.  Jenna shows her strength in this gut-wrenching moment.  With tears in her eyes she mutters that question to a sorrow filled Jeff Probst.

“Are we gonna do the archery now?” - Jenna

The news that she didn’t have a video pierced through the tribe.  In that moment, the game paused, and everyone was effected.  You can’t help but be rooting for Jenna going forward.  The winner of the challenge, and one other winner chosen tribe member, gets the reward of viewing their entire video and making one to send home.  Jenna needs to be one of the two.

Everyone gets one arrow.  That’s it.  Greg wins and invites everyone to watch his video.  But as the tribe gets a laugh from Greg’s sister, one person doesn’t partake in that moment, Jenna.  Jenna doesn’t get to cry tears of joy at seeing her daughter’s faces or hearing their voices say I love you, but instead only tears of sadness at how much she misses them.   Perhaps, one consolation prize for Jenna is how can this help her in the game.  Will people feel bad for her and keep her around?  Will 

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Carabiner Rope Course

In this lackluster immunity challenge the competitors had to navigate through the jungle on foot to 5 checkpoints while being attached to the ropes by carabiners.  Those are the clamps you see people use in rock climbing.  Anyway, the challenge was a bit of a dud.  The runaway winner - Gervase.  

PRE-TRIBAL COUNCIL

“How do you stay true to yourself and maintain integrity?  And, you know what, you can’t!” - Kelly

“It’s cut and dry that we can eliminate somebody every time, and if we don’t I’ll have to break somebody’s kneecap or something.” - Rudy

“Just shut up.  Just vote this way.” - Sue

The alliance is strong and knows their position.  Rich, Sue, and Rudy seem to have a stranglehold on the game and the type of game they are playing.  Kelly on the other hand, shows some wavering.  She wants to be true to herself and maintain her integrity, but she knows that she can’t.  Every time she has to go to tribal council she will be plagued with the internal conflict of having to vote someone off.  She struggles with the morality of the game.  She tells herself she doesn’t need more friends, but she can’t help but grow attached to people.  Kelly is human.  Of course she feels a connection to these people.  How could you not?  

TRIBAL COUNCIL - 1st Jury Member Vote

“How do you balance the ruthlessness required to get to the final 2 with the likability needed to get the final vote?” - Probst

This is the ultimate question.

VOTING

Gervase - JENNA “I think she is really missing her kids and it’s hurting her, this is her ticket.”

Makes no sense Gervase.  My guess is you voted for Jenna again because you already voted for her, so it is easy, and secondly, you couldn’t come up with a reason to vote for anyone else so you used Jenna wanting to see her kids/missing her kids to justify your vote.

Sean - GREG “With my strategy of alphabetical, I’m voting for Greg tonight.  It would have been Gervase’s but he won immunity so I had to skip him.  I don’t think this vote is gonna mean very much.”

Are any of your votes going to mean much? 

Greg - JENNA “First time for paranoia, second time for irritation, and third time because my ear infection is clearing up.”

Greg never had any viable strategy in the game.  

Rich - GREG (singing) “Goodnight sweetheart yeah it’s time to go” then says “no more competition, talk to you later Greg, bye bye.”

You got to love this one.  Rich really won me over with this vote.  I love that song and the fact that his brain is wired to music the way mine is.  Bravo sir!

Votes - Greg - 6, Jenna - 3, 

The alliance speaks again.  This time they even get a boost from Sean’s bogus voting strategy and Jenna seeing Greg change at Rattana.  The alliance’s vote was Rich’s decision.  Greg was a leader and a threat and needed to be taken out.  

Probst’s Closing Thought

With a bit of a smirk, “That’s it for tonight’s tribal council.”

GREG EXIT INTERVIEW

“A twist of fate maybe some expected and some, well, did. An excellent game well manufactured.”

“I harbor no resentment for any of you who voted for me, against me, or otherwise.  I feel like it’s a pretty darn good time.  Thanks guys.”

Greg takes the vote well.  After his fake crying as Probst extinguishes his torch,  Greg defaults back to the fake phone call screwball that we got to know on Pagong beach.  In being voted out, Greg becomes the first member of the jury.  He doesn’t have to struggle with the morality of the game anymore, but he will have one more moral question to answer, who will he vote to win a million dollars?.  

CATEGORIES AND AWARDS

1 - Biggest Move

Rich catching the fish.  I know it seems repetitive at this point but his ability to provide fish for people to eat is working.  He brings smiles to people’s faces and puts food in their bellies.  He knows this is a winning strategy in how to advance in the game. 

2 - Biggest Mistake

Jenna’s family.  I would like to think that whoever contacted her family gave explicit instructions on what to do and when they needed a video back.  To not have a video for her was devastating to watch.  It knocked the wind right out of you.  I’m sure to this day she still gives her family a hard time about screwing that one up.

3 - Challenge Corner

Archery contest vs Rope Race.  Both were lame.  Archery was only one arrow for each person and the rope course was a runaway victory for Gervase.  If I have to pick a winner from the two, the rope race was at least a cool idea and probably difficult for the cameramen to shoot.

4 - Trending Up

Jenna.  She proved her game savvy by figuring out early in the episode that she needed a self preservation strategy and seeing Greg change at Rattana and helping to vote him out.  Most of all she showed how tough she was in the way she handled not having a video.  

5 - Trending Down

Colleen.  She loses her buddy in Greg.  This is going to hurt her.  She may make it a couple more episodes but only because she is the least threatening member of the old Pagong.

6 - Strategy Award

Jenna.  She was the only Pagong person that took action after Gretchen was voted out.  Jenna made the decision to try and ally with the women in hopes of preserving her spot in the game as long as she can. 

7 - Best Screenshot

When you realize how far TVs and technology has improved in the last 20 years.

8 - Best Quote

“How do you balance the ruthlessness required to get to the final 2 with the likability needed to get the final vote?” - Probst

I don’t know if in 2000 when the show first aired if people knew much about how the game was going to work and how a winner would be decided.  This may be the greatest wrinkle in the game of Survivor.  How do you play a cutthroat and ruthless game of voting people out, backstabbing, and blindsiding people, and then ask them to vote for you to win $1 million.  It had to be a crazy concept back then because it still is 20 years later.

9 - Who won the episode?

Jenna.  She showed some high levels of strength in the reward challenge disappointment of not having her family send the video in for her.  She couldn’t see her kids.  She didn’t hear their voices.  She was the only one to be empty handed.  As everyone else got a shot of their real lives injected straight into their hearts, Jenna was left without one.  But she still found a way to turn it around when she asked to do the archery.  That was a real moment, and in it, she won me over and the episode.

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