Matsing – Day 9
The somber music was a fitting accompaniment to the weather and the tribe’s mood. For a long time, no words were spoken, maybe the longest silent scene ever. Even that ended in failure: Russell telling Malcolm to stop trying to make fire.
Malcolm: “…What could possibly be piled on? I think we put on brave faces for each other. Everyone’s scared…One win is all that it’s going to take to turn the mood around camp. One win and we’ll know anything is possible, that we are not destined for annihilation.”
Denise: “This is not what I envisioned at all…We joke, we have these conversations but then we get that silence and my thoughts go to missing home, how do I stay here?”
Russell talked about making the greatest come-back ever and Denise agreed, saying they didn’t have an option.
Russell: “There is no quit in either one of them.”
Matsing isn’t making any come-backs but is Denise on her way to make that great come-back? She is the one heard agreeing with Russell that they have to pull it off but her own confessional sets her more to be a Journey player. Missing her family is an indication that her comeback will be completed if she makes it to the family visit, not necessarily the win. Game analysis would say it’s practically impossible for Denise to make it that far but the way her character has been edited almost guarantees it.
Tandang – Day 9
With Peter complaining about the Philippines, Lisa had a confessional: “You have nothing to do out here but think of different scenarios and how they might go especially when it’s raining. And if you come on Survivor, (Pete shown) you are usually a Type A person who is usually able to take the world by the nose and makes it happen. I’m just worried that the rain may prove once again that we are not, ultimately, in control.”
Peter: “The weather sucks but I am feeling good. I feel like I am in a very, very, very good position in this game and I plan on creating a lot of chaos out here (RC shown) and any chaos that I create is going to be beneficial to me.”
So Peter, the Type A person described by Lisa, wants to create chaos which, I suppose, is a way to “take the world by the nose”. The editors connected these two confessionals for a reason and we can be certain that Pete’s chaos scenario will not be beneficial for him.
Abi: “I was just staring at the raft were we have been sleeping and I see a little piece of paper sticking out. It’s the clue that RC and I have been safely guarding.” RC had no choice but to read the clue to everyone while Abi told us what she thought happened: “I think she went, got the clue out of where we had buried it, put it in her bag and I think it fell. She has no idea that I found the hidden immunity idol but I don’t feel bad because me finding that clue proves to me that she wasn’t 100% honest with me at all.”
RC: “I have no idea what happened with the clue. I certainly didn’t bring it there but because this popped out, I’m a little weary of the tribe.”
Pete: “RC didn’t do anything. I was the one that put it there. Abi showed me where the clue was so I went and got it…and boom; clue planted. It couldn’t have gone any better, it’s crazy, it’s hilarious…Keeping people on their toes is a big part of my strategy. I don’t want anybody to be able to play their game. I want them to play my game.”
I found it ironic that, while Pete exposed his evil plan to keep people on their toes, they were all shown lying down!! A coincidence most will say but is there ever a coincidence in Survivor editing? If Pete wants to keep people on their toes but instead they stay calmly in the shelter, doesn’t his whole strategy fail? Doesn’t it show that our Type A person ultimatelyu won’t stay in control?
Kalabaw
Jonathan “…When the sun comes out, you find yourself in a tropical paradise…Let’s just get busy, let’s get working.”
Kent: “We have a bunch of kids who aren’t married, who don’t know how to carry a professional conversation but Jonathan can do that. You know, he’s trying.”
Did Kent just eliminate all the young persons from winning the title of Sole Survivor? His confessional put a negative spin on all of them but we can’t be sure if all of them means the 4 young ones in Kalabaw or the 8 left. Did you notice that the mature players, except for Artis, have found important roles to play in this story. An older person is winning this game but it isn’t a Survivor veteran or a Type A person. We are narrowing it down!
The scene shifted to the ocean where Jonathan directed Carter to the biggest clam he had ever seen.
Kent’s confessional continued: “As soon as we had Jonathan on our raft, it didn’t matter if it was Jonathan or Russell or Skupin, I didn’t want a veteran to win this game but I’ve got to adapt. Jonathan’s got the idol now, I want to get further in this game so I am going to have to make some adjustments.”
Kent told Jonathan: “I can control some people.”
Jonathan: “Jeff and I actually like each other. He is a hell of a competitor, a really nice guy and we are prepared to be loyal to each other deep into the game.” Jonathan and Kent shared another handshake and this one looked more genuine. “Having him on my side can make us pretty powerful. It’s exciting to have a real ally. I think I do.”
Jonathan then formed an alliance with Carter.
Carter: “It’s kind of crazy because I decided that Jonathan was no longer a target of mine but somebody that I was going to work with and try to get to the top 5 with them and then target him. I’d say me, Jeff and Jonathan right now have a pretty good alliance and the girls, from what I can tell, are on the chopping block.”
There was however, trouble in the men’s paradise!
Dawson: “At the beginning of the game, there was a 5 person alliance of bran new castaways and there was Jonathan on the outside and we were kind of working to get him out. But now, the guys went out on the ocean and they were out there for a couple hours and what are they talking about? They are talking about us.”
Dana told Dawson and Katie that they had to stick together and gather some more ladies. They didn’t need the men.
Dana: “I think women naturally feel more comfortable around each other. As the game progresses, the sexes start to split a little and the men think they have this thing that they add to the table and the women think they have this social game that they being to the table. Don’t underestimate me because I am a female. It’s the worst thing to do to a woman.”
The scene ended with Katie saying it was going to get crazy.
I think we have now narrowed our criteria to find the winner: It isn’t a Type A person that thinks he is in control. It isn’t a young one nor is it a returning player. It is a woman because they are being underestimated: “I can’t go far with Dawson and Katie” said Carter. If that wasn’t enough, look at the teams during the upcoming challenge where all the women except Denise were told to ride the bench.
So; Denise or Lisa? Thematically, Lisa would fit more because she is the least in control, just playing the cards that she is being dealt.
Matsing – Day 9
Malcolm had a confessional after Russell had been denigrating their former tribe mates: “I think I sized up Russell pretty good when I met him. He’s met my low expectations the entire way through…He lacks self-awareness. It’s apparent…in the way he loses his cool at Tribal Council. He’s still here only because…we need muscle mass.”
Russell immediately had a confessional where he said he was a little suspicious which, in itself, proved Malcolm’s analysis. Suspicious should have ended day 1 because he should know by now! His last words even showed that he still didn’t know before the last vote was read Wow!
We then saw Russell looking for the idol. Of course that scene was meant to put some doubt in the outcome of the episode but really, it served to connect us even more to Denise and Malcolm. The editors have made it clear that we shouldn’t root for Russell depite his status as a returning player so showing him looking for the idol can only serve to scare the audience by making us think that one of Denise or Malcolm goes if he finds it. That bodes well for their stories.
Right under your nose!
No one can say the editors don’t have a sense of humor!Denise caught him snooping under the shelter and she told us she found it shady. She told Malcolm about it.
Malcolm: “Denise had this scared look in her eyes and she thinks Russell has an idol.” The two of them went through Russell’s belongings. “I have no shame: You have an idol, I want to know about it.”
The negative action of going through someone’s bags was mostly placed on Malcolm, not Denise.
Tandang
The scene was accompanied by animal imagery showing a spider catching its prey. Who is the spider, who is the prey?
Skupin was shown talking about the rice with Abi and RC.
Peter: “There used to be rift between RC and Abi and now it’s concrete. All because of a little piece of paper. I would love to send RC home right now. I don’t trust RC as far as I can throw her. She’s dangerous but she has one big problem: I’m here.”
RC wanted to talk things over with Abi who simply didn’t want to listen.
RC: “Abi is irrational. She is not a retional player. You don’t know what she’s thinking. I’m worried about my place in the tribe because she clearly didn’t want to talk to me about the hidden immunity clue. I don’t know if she planted it, if she got angry at me and planted it. I have no idea. I thought I had it locked down. I thought I had Abi as my number 2, I thought I had Pete. I think I am in danger if there is an immunity challenge and we lose.”
RC talked to Lisa about her problem, saying she wanted to apologize but didn’t know what she did wrong.
Lisa: “I think that the straw that broke the camel’s back was when RC let the clue come out of her bag and Abi, the little Brazillian spice, just broke open. So, more of my energy is going to go to blowing some oxygen on some fire over here and let them flame out so I don’t have to be the one that takes the heat.”
So, the theme of playing the hand that you are dealt keeps working nicely for Lisa. A new hand, a new strategy and not one that requires any control. That is important to note. Lisa is the spider and she’ll probably get both Abi and RC!
The Challenge
The main thing to note was Dawson’s diappointment when the men decided she’d sit out the challenge along with all the other women and then Russell’s dejection when he realized his team would be going up against teams of 3 men.
*Rant* With the absence of the alternating sit out rule then the challenges should involve the whole tribes. 6 pots, 6 players? Why not have them carry one pot at a time and have Matsing do it twice? Survivor has stupid rules sometimes. *End Rant*
Despite having a lead for a while and starting the last stage before Kalabaw, Matsing lost…again.
Artis was the MVP of the challenge.
Russell lost it and started talking about his perfection which we won’t get into.
Matsing
Malcolm: “I was ready to cry after that challenge.” In the ocean, he told Russell to vote Denise. “I’ve been aligned with Denise since day 1 but I am forced to make decisions on day 9 that I didn’t consider having to make until day 20 or so.”
In the shelter, he told Denise that Russell thought they were voting against her.
Denise: “I have my alliance with Malcolm…but if Russell has the immunity idol; it’s not good…We are trying to make Russell think he is the swing. We are trying to make him feel comfortable so if he does the immunity idol, he doesn’t play it.”
Denise made him feel so comfortable that he told her about a personal story from his childhood.
That slice of real life, so prevalent in the early seasons, is usually forgotten by the editors nowadays in favor of strategy talks so we have to assume that it was strategy that we were being shown: Denise at work, getting people to reveal their innermost secrets. If she is this good after the merge then watch out!
Malcolm: “Tonight, it can go either way and I like to think that I am sitting in the controlling seat.”
Russell’s vote would prove that Malcolm wasn’t in control, connecting this scene with Lisa’s early confessional. The type A persons may think they are in control but they really aren’t
Denise. “Yes, I have faith in human beings. I have to. If I get bamboozled tonight, it’s not going to shake my faith that these are two good guys. It will tell me that I screwed up and they played the game better than me.”
One of the best out-of-my-control, self-aware, confessionals ever. TC’s result proves that they didn’t play better than Denise.
Tribal Council
Malcolm agreed with Jeff that it had been crazy.
Denise pointed to all three bags, saying they were full.
Russell explained his mind-set regarding the challenge.
Malcolm told Jeff that he was the one that didn’t get the job done. “When you let people down it stings doubly.”
Denise said she should stay because she is strong and can help make alliances down the line.
Malcolm repeated that he could help them win a challenge.
Russell said that it was the reason to get rid of Malcolm.
Asked why they should get rid of Denise, Malcolm said “she is a step above us all socially.”
Russell added: “She gets in front of the jury, they will say: “You suck, you suck, she wins!”
This exchange makes it very tempting to say that Denise will indeed win despite any analysis of her present position in the game. If she makes the F3, she wins.
The Story
The first 4 episodes have left us with these themes:
E1: Make sure that you Go With the Game.
E2: Players Crash and Burn.
E3: You Have to Play the Hand that is Dealt
E4: We Are Not In Control.
Put together, we are inclined to say that this season’s winner will not be making big moves because that would be taking the deck in your own hands instead of playing the hand that is dealt. Big move means you are a step ahead therefore moving faster than the game, so this season it would mean playing too hard too fast. And this episode told us that, despite being used to taking charge, the type A players are not in control. So, the winner will most likely be a follower.
This episode also strongly suggested that a veteran will not win, that the younger players don’t have what it takes and that you shouldn’t underestimate a woman. Therefore, the story is pointing towards the winner being either Lisa or Denise.
Of course, we have to keep in mind that Kent could be proven wrong, that they will vote for a veteran to win in the end or the young ones will show that they are sufficiently mature to win. Or maybe Dana will be proven wrong and the men will dominate. That means we still have to look at
The Characters The Young Ones:
According to Kent, they are too immature so that should eliminate them. Considering how Katie, Dawson, Carter have been edited, it’s hard to argue against that.
Dawson: Her confessional makes us think she can stay a while and it will be interesting to see if she can align with other women but her role is too peripheral to consider that she will emerge as the star of the season.
Carter: He told us that you can’t go far in the game by aligning with Dawson and Katie so he adds to the theme presented by Kent. Carter’s intervention only served to advance Jonathan’s story.
Dana: She has more character than the other young members of Kalabaw. She introduced the theme of not underestimating women but will she be the one profitting from it? Dana has been Kalabaw’s narrator rather than an important player.
Peter: As noted above, Peter has become the main player in Tandang, the schemer, the villain who will create chaos for his own benefit. Unfortunately for him, he is the prototypical Type A person that should fail this season because of the Themes we have identified. He wants people to be on their toes but they are shown lying in the shelter. He wants RC and Mike gone but can’t get around to executing his plan. The game is moving too slowly for Peter; his need for urgency will hurt him. We will see that, despite his pretention, he won’t be in control. The juxtaposition of his confessional about liking his position in the game came right after Lisa’s confessional about Type A persons to set the table for his demise.
Abi: The Brazilian time-bomb is being used by her closest ally; Peter pushes the buttons and Abi explodes. There is no doubt that Abi herself is a type A person and she wants to be in control. Her actions make for interesting dynamics in Tandang but she isn’t shown as a wise player. For example, the way her confessional was cut lets the viewer wonder why bringing the clue into the shelter would prove that RC had betrayed her. Abi would have looked more rational if her confessional had continued with something like: “I’m sure she was showing it to Mike.” That must have been what irritated her so much so she must have said something along those lines. But Abi is presented as an irrational player so she isn’t given an opportunity to state her case and she can’t be the winner.
Malcolm: His story has enough substance to consider he will survive annihilation but can he win? He wants to be in control which goes against the grain of the story and he was presented as being somewhat indecisive during the previous elimination. Malcolm will be able to use his challenge skills to survive a while but not make it to the end.
RC: Of all the younger players, RC still has the best story to carry her to the end. She is presented as a power player (Peter: “She’s dangerous”) but she isn’t forceful enough to carry it out. She thought she had it locked down. thought she was in control, but she isn’t. Showing RC’s inability to talk to Abi doesn’t bode well for her chances to convince people when it really comes down to tough decisions.
The Type A Older Players
Kent: He has a quiet way about him that his refreshing but make no mistake: Kent wants to be in charge so we can expect that he will crash and burn at some point. Already, the women of his tribe aren’t in his corner so we can see that he won’t get his way. For that type of player, there are no alternatives even if he says he can adapt.
Jonathan: Once more, he sees a light, a direction that could carry him far into the game so there is no denying that Jonathan is a good player but his story seems limited to his idol and his relationship with Jeff Kent. Their alliance should carry both far into the game but nothing tells us that it will be to the end.
Mike: No one was a bigger Type A person than Skupin in the Outback. The guy thanked God for making him the leader of Kucha right in front of everyone else! (It was interesting that, during Russell’s talk with God, Mike was shown disapproving as if he had learned not to get a deity involved in the game.) So, it’s extremely interesting that, despite the connections to his Outback character through his injuries, he isn’t presented as someone looking to control the game. True to his word, his theme, he is moving at the proper pace for the game but his relative absence from the story is troubling. If Kent’s words are being used ironically, if a veteran does win, then Mike has to be our top contender over Jonathan. But, if we have read the themes correctly a veteran can’t win, a woman will. I don’t think Mike’s edit will flame out (!) but it feels too cold to earn him the victory. The editors need to fire up his story.
(I could go on with the fire analogies but I’ll stop here)
As mentioned above, that leaves:
Denise: Seeing her win would make for a wonderful underdog story. Russell has presented it already as the biggest come-back in Survivor history and both Malcolm and Russell have told us the jury would reward her. Unfortunately, there are those moments of silence when she wonders what she is doing there, away from her family. That usually tells us a player’s story ends at the family visit. The check Russell mentioned could very well be for Fan Favorite. Can Denise get both? I say she is a step behind our top contender…
Lisa: Most of the themes of the season come from Tandang and they all apply perfectly to Lisa. She hasn’t moved faster than the game, she’s still playing the hands that are being dealt, she isn’t in control, just blowing a little on the fire. She shouldn’t be underestimated simply because she is a woman. She is mature enough to know how to talk to others and if the jury (Kalabaw) doesn’t want a veteran to win then she would get their votes. Does Lisa win? I’d say it’s a good guess.