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scorch99
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Joined: 09 Oct 2003
Posts: 782
Location: On the road
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 Posted: 12/10/04 - 17:59 Post subject:
I saw it late (from Las Vegas) last night.
here's the recap from reality news online
Survivor: Vanuatu – Eruptions, Volcanic and Otherwise
by Ken Kellam III -- 12/10/2004
Thursday night was an episode full of surprises – just ask Eliza and Julie about tribal council. But perhaps the biggest surprise is how much action there was without Ami to fuel the volcanic fire. Join Ken as he takes a look at the season’s last Thursday night episode.
Because the finale airs on Sunday, there’s little turnaround time for those of us who write about Survivor: Vanuatu. Normally, I watch the show, take notes, watch again later on tape, take more notes, and eventually, get around to writing. No time for that now, however. My mission, whether or not I decide to accept it, is to get this done as soon as possible and make it interesting. Well, here goes.
Before getting started on this week’s episode, however, I’d like to address the issue of Ami one final time. After my last article, in which I pretty much tore her a new one (though I was by no means the only one), one reader from Australia wrote to rake me over the coals, apparently feeling that Ami played a better game than she got credit for. Soon after, a friend of mine IM’ed me and seemed upset that there was a lack of “balance” on the RNO website. That is, no one seemed to come to Ami’s defense, and everyone seemed to attack her like they knew her.
Okay, I’ll give Ami credit. Say what you will about her (and I have), she DID play an excellent game until Leann’s ouster (several other writers also said as much in earlier articles). In fact, after she single-handedly turned the tables and managed to get Chad ousted, it looked like she was playing the game better than anyone still in it. Yes, she acted like a dictator at times (and I even compared her to Napoleon), but she was not only playing the game, she was controlling it.
Ironically, her downfall came when she stepped back and decided to be a follower and not a leader. But while she eventually got outplayed and outwitted (i.e. double-crossed) by Twila and Scout, she showed herself to be a pretty good player beforehand, both in terms of strategy and challenges.
Now, let’s address the way she was blistered by me and others for her conduct not only throughout the game, but right before and after her ouster. I won’t claim to know what she’s like away from the game. In fact, I tried to limit my comments to the Ami we saw on the boob tube, which may or may not be a true reflection of the way she is when the cameras are off. Now having said that, you can’t blame it all on editing. After all, she did give everyone the middle finger upon leaving, which wasn’t exactly classy. And to quote Heather B. from the first Real World, “How can we blame them, if we gave them what they used?”
Okay, now on to this week’s episode. How ironic is it that the more strong personalities leave the game, the more interesting it gets? Once Sarge was gone, an already ho-hum series looked to become even more ho-hum, because it seemed like viewers were running out of people to root for. But once Leann, admittedly not such a strong personality during the show, was ousted, the season seemed to turn a corner. Then, last week, with Ami being shown the door, it looked to get even more interesting. And it did, but for a surprising reason.
After tribal council, Chris stated it seemed like it would be a quiet easy night. Of course, Twila saw to it that this wasn’t the case by confronting Eliza for her comments at tribal council. To refresh your memory, Eliza had commented on Twila’s swearing on her son’s name. I won’t be a hypocrite and blast Twila’s move, because I’ve already stated that it was good strategy. But her outburst at Eliza and the others is a different matter. Twila was in a position of power, so what did she have to gain by erupting at Eliza?
Was anyone else watching and thinking, “Twila, leave well enough alone. SHUT UP!” The “idiot” tag my editor used to describe Eliza last week seemed this time to fit Twila. To compound the idiocy, she then started ranting at Julie. What was that all about? Is there something Mark Burnett hasn’t shown us? It seemed like Twila was like a wildfire, destroying anything in her path. Eliza, of all people, summed it up best when she said, “If you can’t live with your past actions you shouldn’t have done it,” referring to Twila’s swearing on her son’s name.
Most likely, Twila didn’t realize what a controversy it would cause, and got mad at herself; but her regret manifested itself by lashing out at the others. It got so tense, it almost looked like Twila had had enough of the game and was deliberately behaving in such a way as to get herself voted out.
While I applauded the way she helped oust Leann and then Ami, it seemed like all her efforts were about to go for naught due to her inability to control her temper, and as my editor would say, “Pretend to be nice.” If she had been smart, she would’ve confined her rant to the camera. Speaking of which, why didn’t we hear Scout’s confessional thoughts on this matter? How great of footage would it have been to hear her tell the camera, “I’m like, ‘Twila give it a rest. We got the game where we want it.’”
Okay, now it’s time to move on. Let’s address Eliza’s conversation with Julie. Both women here were playing a smart game. Julie was smart to work on Eliza, asking her why voting Twila over her (Julie) would be a big deal. Eliza, in turn, was smart to answer “I don’t know,” although it was pretty obvious that she did know: Julie was one of those who tried to turn on Eliza, and since then, Eliza had made an alliance with Scout, Twila, and Chris, so turning on her alliance would obviously be a big deal.
Now, let’s take a look at the reward challenge, which consisted of a series of previous challenges. When it turned out that different parts of the challenge including carrying a pig and walking on a balance beam (though certainly not at the same time), how easy was it to think, “Eliza and Chris are so not winning this challenge.” In round one, which involved going through mud, Scout, predictably, was last, and hence eliminated. In round two, each player had to scoop a pig, and not surprisingly, Eliza was gone. Next gone was Chris, who forgot a piece of his Tiki doll, so it didn’t even take the balance beam to knock him out.
The final heat was between Julie and Twila, and although Twila put of a gallant effort, Julie eventually pulled through to win her first individual challenge win of the game, reward or immunity. When she was given the chance to choose someone to take along, how well did she have it pegged when she said, “It’s ironic because none of them would’ve taken me.”
Now, since she had to take along one of them, did she make the right choice? My first reaction was yes, because she obviously planned to work Chris while they were together. But let’s ask another question: Was it a good idea for her to win in the first place? After all, she was already on the chopping block, and winning reward would only make her look like more of a threat. However, it’s my feeling that she was going even if she came in last in the reward challenge, so what did she have to lose? Certainly not a chance to work on Chris. Granted, it didn’t work, but it was still a smart move.
Once they went on their trip, how amusing was it to see Chris have trouble with his horse? Just as the horse was reluctant to get its hooves dirty, you couldn’t help but wonder if this was symbolic of Chris’ reluctance to “jump in” and align with Julie later on. To Chris’ credit, he kissed up to her, saying she’d done nothing but help him throughout the game.
Meanwhile, back at camp, how childish and immature was Twila’s refusal to tell Eliza where the bananas were? Coupled with her earlier outburst, it looked like Twila had gone bananas. Twila must’ve forgotten that she might eventually need Eliza’s jury vote. Yes, when Eliza called her “childish, immature, obnoxious and annoying,” it was easy to think about a pot and a kettle, but Eliza did have a point. And rest assured, if Eliza pulled this kind of stunt, Twila and Scout would’ve let her have it.
Then, we got to join Chris and Julie watch a volcanic eruption, complete with fireworks. Hey, if they wanted to see an eruption with fireworks, they should’ve stayed back at camp and watched Twila.
Eventually, Chris and Julie returned to the other three, and Chris summed up the entire situation when he said he didn’t trust the ladies, they didn’t trust each other, and that he thought they all trusted him.
Then it came time for the immunity challenge. Did anyone else think back to the first Survivor, when the players had to listen to a story and then show themselves reciting the question and answer into a video camera? Of course, this time, we didn’t have the spectacle of Scout reading the question and saying “I don’t know,” as Rudy did multiple times.
Eliza won immunity, and to be honest, when she commented that it was her first immunity win, I was a bit surprised; didn’t she win a few episodes back? Apparently not. Because she’d won a reward challenge or two, I just thought of “immunity.” Now, as my editor as stated, she can be an idiot, but she’s also smart and physically able when it comes to challenges. A little too able for Julie; the look on her face once Eliza was declared the winner said it all.
At this point, Chris was still aligned with Eliza, Twila, and Scout, but didn’t do himself too many favors by talking to Eliza. Twila happened to overhear. While Twila was smart to eavesdrop, it wasn’t so smart to confront them right then and there. At this point, I started to wonder if the editor should have used the “idiot” tag on her as much as he had previously on Eliza.
Then it came time for tribal council. When Twila was asked by Jeff Probst if anyone left didn’t deserve to be there, she actually showed some smarts by waffling. It was obvious she didn’t want to answer the question, and lying would’ve been too obvious.
Of course, Eliza couldn’t leave well enough alone, raising her hand and saying, “It’s me, by the way.” Eventually she told the host, “Everyone deserves to be here.” I personally doubt the players remaining bought it, and most likely, neither did the jury.
Then, it came time for the vote. What is it with Scout and nonsensical comments while voting? Last week, when voting Ami, she made some reference to a lone tree, a hill, and some lightning, I think. This week, she wrote Julie’s name down, and advised her to “rediscover your roots.” HUH? It’s not like Julie dyed her hair blonde, so exactly what is Scout talking about? I can’t wait to hear her comments when voting out Eliza or Chris at the next tribal council, and I hope that someone will eventually ask her in an interview exactly what the heck she was talking about.
Once the votes were read and Julie was gone, the look on Eliza’s face was just too funny. Like Ami and Leann before her, she apparently thought the vote was in the bag. Keep an eye on her next conversation with Chris, assuming it’s shown during the finale. Speaking of which, talk to you then
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