I think she deserved it, to tell you the truth.

I mean, she was hung out to dry so many times, and she just kept coming back.  Protecting herself.  Playing the great social game.  Standing up to Russell.

She didn’t have strong alliances.  She didn’t have tons of immunity idols.  Everyone counted her out.

In other words, she was the underdog.

And it paid off.

I think there is something to that.  Russell spent a lot of time bagging on her and wringing sour grapes (as is his custom), but he was dead wrong about Sandra and her ability to win.

And he still doesn’t understand why she won.

Russell, you are an egomaniac.  You are.  Admit it.  Maybe your five supporters in the front row can watch you play the game and not roll their eyes or occasionally gag, but most people can’t.  I know, I know…America gave you $100,000…but consider, that’s a portion of America that takes the time to actually send in text messages to vote for things like this.  So ok.  13 year-olds awarded you $100k.  But when your children, upon whom you swore and then broke the promise?  Well, we’ll see how that goes down the line.

Anyway, Russell underestimates the social game.  The quiet game.  Sandra’s game.

Whether or not you respect what she did, you have to respect the jury.  Russell was blanked and Sandra won a convincing victory.  Say what you want.

But she’s the winner.

This season was filled with all kinds of twists and turns.  From J.T.’s dumbest move ever to Sandra’s biggest win ever (two times?) we saw it all.

And next season, in Nicaragua, I hope we see more.

There will be heroes and villains in every season, and sometimes the line is blurred.  But then again, we’ll always have the Russells of the world who make the roles as clear as day.

And chances are, they’ll get blanked by the jury as well.

See you next season on the Survivor blog!

-josh

We had such high hopes.

Indeed, we did.

We hoped you would listen to Sandra, your only Villain ally, and try to vote out Russell.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you played Russell’s hand, as you always do, and made a mess of things.  I mean, we know Colby is essentially a non-entity in this game, but we thought maybe you would take the lead for the remaining ragtag Heroes and work some magic, like you did with your lump-of-coal immunity idol.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you made another deposit in Hantz’s bank of evil, and you will never draw interest.  You will never see that money again.

Rupert, let me say something to you:  When you see that you were right about Russell initially, don’t beat yourself up too badly.  Because hey, in the end, at least you didn’t give him an immunity idol.

Did you hear me, J.T.?

-josh

Russell, Russell, Russell.

One almost hates to give him more blog space, but it’s just so dang hard not to!  Honestly…

Last night, he worked his sinister magic again – somehow managing to pull the strings of insanity and create havoc, engineering the eliminations of Candice (whose time had probably come anyway) and Danielle (sort of a shock).

But he did it in an unusual way, especially when it came to Danielle.  Quite simply, he bullied.  He questioned her integrity and loyalty, and broke her down so that it cast a light of doubt upon her in the tribe, and got her talking at Tribal where she pretty much sealed her fate by revealing her closeness with Parvati.

Done.

Now, I didn’t much care for Danielle on the show, but I certainly sympathize with her.  Russell said things about her that weren’t true, and then as she tried to defend herself, he stuck to it.  Eventually she cried out of frustration.

I think we all know that feeling.

We get pushed against a wall of someone else’s mental creation.  And they just keep banging our heads and banging our heads until we succumb, either with violence or silence.

Usually, this takes place in middle school where the bully picks on the “weaker” kids – taunting and name calling until they break the weaker kid down.  Then, when the weaker kid shows honest emotion and tries to reason, it just gets worse and worse.  The bully shouts “poopy pants!” (in elementary school) or “nerd!” (in the ’80s) or “loser!” or any other inane variation of verbal lunacy that bears no resemblance to reality, but then again, in bullying, reality does not matter.  It’s only a way of breaking someone down.

Now throw Russell and a mil into the mix and that’s sorta what it looked like last night.

And Survivor can do that.  It can bring out that middle school mentality in a way almost nothing else can.

It brings trouble to probably ordinarily (possibly) well-adjusted souls.

This season has a feeling of inevitability to it.  I don’t like to make predictions on winners, except with my viewing partner, but I can predict this:  More trouble ahead.

And more poopy pants on the playground

-josh

And when asked about it, Russell Hantz said, “It means good and evil.”

Argh!

I mean, there might be people out there with that perception, but if we look at the gentle Taoist philosophy, it really isn’t good vs. evil.  It’s about balance…complementary opposites, such as heat/cold, male/female.  Things that are necessary complements to each other.

Now, it is certainly a clever name, I’ll grant them that…for there does seem to be a lot of good and evil in the game of Survivor, but I just cringed when they picked it!

But I must say, things are getting exciting there on the ol’ island.  Especially when Russell swore on his children that he “was with” the Heroes.

Really?

You just said that on national television?

Eh, who am I kidding.  It’s Russell.  He’d do almost anything on national television to win…or, to prove he’s the best.

Sad.

But anyway, Parvati’s move was crazy, and you knew as she was doing it that she was going to eventually have to answer to Russell (for hiding an idol).  I wouldn’t count the heroes out just yet.

Not by a longshot.

When you watch this coming week, enjoy!  It’s gonna be quite a finish.

Just don’t get caught up in the Yin/Yang that isn’t really there.

-josh

And, quite possibly, it was.

Indeed, JT engineered a “brilliant” plan to help Russell escape the non-existent female alliance on the Villain’s tribe.  What was the plan?  Handing an immunity idol over to him after a challenge.

Argh.

Now, sure, it was easy for us usual fans to cringe.  We know the story on each tribe.  We know Russell’s running the show.  We know there’s not danger for him.  But for the Heroes?  Well, perception told a different story.  With Coach’s recent departure, it sure looks like the women have an alliance.

Who can blame JT for perceiving differently?

Who?  Who could blame him?

The answer?

ALL OF US!  YES!

As we discussed last week, anyone who’s watched the show knows that Russell is somehow always in control.  In other words, your perception of Russell is not Russell.  If you think he’s down, he wants you to think that.  If you perceive that he’s not in control, it’s usually because that’s how he’s structured it.

JT’s…brain infraction…isn’t crazy because he handed an idol over.  That was a good idea.  Brilliant even.

What makes it crazy is that he handed it to Russell Hantz.

Ideas in and of themselves aren’t good or bad.  It’s the intention behind them…or maybe the perception that drives them…that makes all the difference.

Good idea, Heroes.  Bad perception.

It’s gonna cost ya.

-josh

I mean, except for Russell.

You have chance after chance to dump Hantz, and you don’t.  And then the teaser for next week shows JT possibly hatching a plan to offer his idol to Russell on the other side (probably because of the suspected women’s alliance on the Villain’s side which doesn’t exist).

Hello?  Hello, Villans?  Heroes?  Do any of you watch the show when you’re not on it?

This season is a little devastating because it shows the power of the Russells of the world.  Bullies.  Egomaniacs.  Figures who revel in being awful to others, all the while justifying it by making reference to their awfulness-as-greatness.  Now, I don’t know his persona outside the game.  Perhaps he’s a model father, husband, and boss.  Perhaps he has this strategy worked out with his loved ones ahead of time so that when they actually see him in action, they don’t hide their heads in utter shame at the fact that they are related to an egomaniacal horror show.

Fine.

But what about the other Survivors?  They don’t need to know his persona outside of the islands.  They know it.  He is what most of them (hopefully) aspire not to be with others…even in a game.  And yet, vote after vote, there he is.  I even found myself rooting for the mighty Dragon Slayer to stay around this season (What?  Really?), if only to lead a charge in the opposite direction.

But no.

Next week should be interesting.  Maybe the Survivors saw the show about the Buddha the other night on PBS, about the “Awakened One.”  Maybe they’ll wake up at some point to the truth and do what they have to do.

But probably not.

Of course, if they were the Buddha, they probably wouldn’t be on the show, but hey, there’s always room for a mixed metaphor now and then.

-josh

Two hours of ‘reality’ bliss, Survivor-style.

There is an undeniable excitement at the start of a new season of Survivor, now in its 20^th go.  Even though this season revisits players from the past, there is an edgy anticipation in meeting the players and watching them have their initial size-up on the beach.

I always wonder how those players feel when they first step onto the beach and face each other.  Are their hearts pounding?  Are they in shock?  I am reminded of my days going to a new school…mom leads me across the parking lot to the door, and there are kids playing in the yard and laughing…there are teachers scurrying about…and I am trudging my way along into the alien landscape to meet new people and have new experiences.  Will I be accepted?  Tortured?  Outcast?

Possibility rules the new, and it isn’t always fun.

And last night, the same rules applied.  The theme of this season is “Heroes vs. Villains.”  And that’s pretty much what we had…at first.  But as the show begins and the competition begins, we are reminded that that is mostly a perception.  There is gaming and scheming on both beaches, and after awhile, one begins to see that hero or villain is just a matter of packaging.  Of perception.

That has always been the joy of Survivor.  That has been the attraction, I think.  When we see people from all walks of life isolated together, playing a game for a million dollars, we get insight into the nature of the human being.  Will there be friendship?  Love?  Loyalty?  Or will it all degrade into a fish-head soup of lies, deceit, and back-stabbing.

Everyone has ideas about how they would hold to their ethics when it comes to Survivor.  But I have a hunch that while you’re out there, it’s hard to know which way you would turn.

As Heroes vs. Villains continues this season, join the discussion at Orumai and let’s examine the show, its cast, and our own natures.

It’ll be fun…and we may all learn something along the way.

-josh

Now, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know how much we love Survivor around here.

I tuned in with great interest last night because the show included a preview for the 20th season, which will be entitled, “Heroes vs. Villians“.  Exciting!  Intriguing!  Just plain cool.

And right in the wheelhouse here at Orumai.

Why?

Well, the interest of Survivor is not just the game.  It’s more than that.  It’s the strategy and the beautiful locations.  It’s also the group mentality, and what that says about individuals.  In other words, when you tune in to a fresh season of Survivor, it’s like taking the shrinkwrap off a brand new box of possibility.  When you put 20 or so people together in one place where they will be denied constant food, water, and basic hygiene, plus you dangle $1,000,000 in front of them, well, that is a recipe for human nature to shine at its best…and worst.

This season, Orumai will conduct a weekly Survivor blog.  It’s another chance to get dialogue started on this board about what it means to be human and, possibly, spiritual.  That’s right.  When we watch shows like Survivor, we have a visceral reaction to them because they show us something about our deepest selves through watching others.  When we see people lying, scheming, truthing, battling, and generally hanging tough in adversity, those are usually times when we do an internal check to see if these actions are something we think we would do, or whether we think we would act differently.

It’s also a time to see if we are telling ourselves the truth about such matters.

Whether or not you watch Survivor, I know you’re reading Orumai…and that means you have a point of view on life.  Well?  Do you?  Join in.  And let’s enjoy season 20 together.

Yeah, I know it’s not life or death.

But it’s Survivor!

-josh