I don't think Shii Ann's open betrayal was ever discussed after the fact, so I'd just like to throw something out here to prevent her from being named worst player ever (or at least strategically). I just have to point out here that while she's really not one of my favourites, I think she's gotten a far worse rap than she deserves.

Things that were going on:

Erin and Penny ran SJ like a highschool of sorts, it seems. They seem to have no love for Shii Ann and we have accounts from Jake, Ken and herself telling of how she was excluded from the group and never made to feel welcome. Now, you say, "this is a group of five! Erin and Penny were only two people! Why didn't she just cozy herself up to Jake?"

But then we'd have to look at dynamics. Jake's strategy from the beginning was to hook himself up with the sweetheart. He had found a companion in Penny from the moment she announced where she was from and that was a solid bond, despite the caring he showed towards Shii Ann. That's already a majority there and there's no reason for Ken to stand by her when he could easily just get himself into that four.

Another interesting thing: If they had merged 5-5 and Shii had stuck with her group, they would've had a random removal. Sure, you might say, "Well then, she has a 50-50 chance of getting to the final 5! Why mess that up?"

The answer is ~because~ the chance is only 50-50. As the situation stands, she would most likely end up in 5th ~if~ someone from CG drew the rock. If someone from her tribe drew the rock, she would end up anywhere from 6th to 10th. Suffice to say that if someone from her tribe draws the rock, all of her bargaining power with CG is completely gone (and she might be as well!), so don't go suggesting that she should've waited because if someone from CG went at the merge, she would be able to switch and gain a better position.

Betraying her tribe gave not only personal satisfaction, but also a good chance at getting back into the game as well as at least 6th place which is only one less than what she would've gotten if her tribe gained control and most likely better than where she would've ended up if CG had gained control.

And who knows, maybe by the time it got around to day 33, she may have figured out a way into the CG circle (especially since she'd probably be shunned by SJ and have to hang out with CG exclusively, ~and~ because who better to take to the end than the betrayer?) - something Jake and Penny were unable to do.

• RE: Shii Ann,true, 10:13 AM, 03-10-03
  • RE: Shii Ann,Kokoro, 02:04 PM, 03-10-03
  • RE: Shii Ann,evanakm, 11:54 PM, 03-10-03
    • RE: Shii Ann,Kokoro, 05:44 PM, 03-12-03

Wow Koko, you make a very good and detailed arguement on behalf of Shii Ann. I believe I nominated her in the worst strategy category, but I see your point. Shii Ann was screwed by the latest Survivor "twist" at the time. She was told not to assume anything in the game, but she did anyway, and she got burned. Bad luck? Yes. Bad Strategy? I think so. I'm not sure it should win as all time worst strategy, but I think it deserves to be considered.

"I smell the smelly smell of something that smells smelly" - Mr. Krabs

Of course there were nine other people all acting as if it were a merge as well, so she wasn't alone in the assumption. She just happened to be the only person with an agenda (and the balls to do something).

It was not bad strategy at all. Let's just say that she had stuck by her tribe, and found out there was a fake merge, and SJ lost the immunity challenge. Guess who would have been voted off that night? Shii Ann. On the next episode, Jake said that the four remaining SJs had a pact to be the final four. They made the exact same mistake that the Rotu 4 made: making the message loud and clear that the extra member of their alliance was disposable, and Shii Ann saw the writing on the wall and tried to jump ship. This is why I think the whole no merge thing was a huge mistake on MB's part. Instead of punishing the arrogant alliance, all that happened was that he forced a Pagonging.

I don't see how people can say that Shii Ann's strategy was all that bad when it didn't hurt her at all. She was going to be voted off ANYWAY. It was an exact repeat of the Marquesas. The Rotu 4 flaunted their power in the face of Boston Rob, and even though Rob lost, he managed to take four people down with him by painting John and Zoe as untrustworthy. Shii Ann was voted off in the same position and she managed to take four people down with her. She made the remaining SJs look so untrustworthy that there was no chance of them cracking into Chuay Gahn.

Those are some interesting points about Shii's strategy that even I hadn't thought of before. I think people mostly feel that it was somehow the worst move ever because of how it was edited and because the non-merge was a shock to us as well.

It's true that she was screwed either way, although she actually had a chance of surviving if the merge had actually happened whereas when there wasn't a merge, she was screwed right then and there no matter what she did or didn't do.