Survivor China: Loyalty Rears Its Head
Commentary by Peter Sacco, Phd.
October 26, 2007
Before I dive into this week's episode of Survivor China, I would like to clarify something from last week's column. I was surprised by how many e-mails I received from viewers of the show. Most of the e-mails were in support of what I wrote. There were a few e-mails I received asking me if I didn't understand Peih-Gee's and Jamie's strategy. For starters, yes I understood their logic to the nth degree. With that said, their logic involved cheating. Yes, you heard me right…Cheating!
Whenever you are in a competition, no matter what sport, amateur or professional, you play to win. This is why there is a winner and a loser. Furthermore, when you are competing with others, who are on your team and you purposely throw any game without their knowledge, you have cheated them out of intended and potential victories.
Basically, you are a fraud! They gave their heart and soul into the competition not only to win for themselves, but also for you. The two girls cheated not only James and Aaron, but Eric as well. He was left in the dark. I am Canadian. Our country is pretty competitive. Now take the USA which I love. They are extremely competitive. Winning means a lot, sometimes everything in the world of professional sports. Children are also taught the values of playing hard and playing fair. With that said…
Cheating is cheating. I don't care if you say, "Well, they only half cheated." Is there such thing as someone who is a "half virgin"? For all intents and purposes, they are participating in an event which pays out 1 million dollars. Scruples should come into play and those violating the principles of fairness, should be questioned. At last check, the Chicago White Sox players who were involved in the Black Sox World Series scandal never got reinstated or forgiven by the league. Pete Rose is still not in the Hall of Fame. And Rick Tochette, at the root of betting illegally on NHL hockey was charged and is now out of the sport. My point… Americans take their sports and winning serious! If you are a member of Survivor, you should too! This now leads me to James…
Last night payback was nearly a bitch for Jamie and/or Peih-Gee. For starters, Amanda, Todd and Frosti saw to it that James got the immunity idol. With that said, I am sure he will come into possession of the second. The plan was for James to throw the competition to undermine the tribe. The tribe would then have to get rid of the person James voted for which would have been Jamie, thus breaking the bond between Eric and her. That then would have left Eric and Peih-Gee. The plan was brilliant and the plan once again involved…cheating. James was willing to go through with the plan as he wanted vindication for what was done to Aaron, as well as protecting his own Survival. The plan was in action until Fei Long started to choke-I refer to this both literally and figuratively. With everything on the line, Denise couldn't stomach the baby chicks. Rather than let her and his tribe look stupid, Jame's conscience got the better of him and he couldn't go through with throwing the game. My hats off to him! With that said, Fei Long lost the competition anyway, and had to go to tribal council. In going to vote, Sherea got the unanimous fast pass off the island which was fitting, and the right thing to do for leverage.
Sherea tried to get the only one who would listen, which was Courtney to boot Jean-Robert off the island. Todd was actually considering it, but his logic and smarts got the better of him. If you can't get rid of Jamie to weaken the other tribe, why not get rid of Sherea to weaken the other tribe, right? Their plan worked. I thought it was the right thing to do. Getting rid of John-Robert would have been stupid, especially before the merger. Why get rid of the guy who is one of, if not your best competitors and strongest? I would get rid of Courtney way before I ever got rid of John-Robert. Honestly, does this girl do anything? She's useless in the competitions and sits them out whenever she gets a chance. Would you want some big prize on the line with her at the helm? It is definitely time she goes! Amanda and Denise carry themselves well and do the best they can. Some might say otherwise after Denise choked on the chick, but hey, at least she tried. Courtney got to munch on eel for crying out loud. She got the only reasonable dish which is found in any sushi restaurant. And she still couldn't devour them. Me thinks Fei Long winning the trip to the day spa, also known as the tea house might have filled one too many tummies.
Where does this take us? Well, for starters, the Zhan Hu tribe is just about done. They don't have the numbers anymore. Frosti I believe has switched teams. So, basically, it's the two girls and Eric. If they had to go to tribal council, James is untouchable. The big guy has no worries. It will be interesting to see when they find out Sherea got the boot. I wouldn't be surprised to see Eric form an even greater alliance with Jamie or vice versa to plot against Peih-Gee. Logic would assert Eric better try to become friends fast with James. He better get his head in the game before the merger. At the moment James is his only key to being accepted in the merger.
As far as Todd goes, wow, this guy is aligned with everyone, even the stars! It looked like things sort of got heated up between Courtney and him at the tribal council. This is something to watch out for. Todd has a lot of clout in his tribe and Courtney can scream out "Jean-Robert" all she wants, but if she rubs Todd the wrong way, she will be joining Sherea. It should make for a fun show. The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!
Peter Andrew Sacco is an established author. His self-help books Why Women Want What They Can't Have and What's Your Anger Type? have become very popular sellers in the USA and Canada.
His new book Fast Food Dating Your 2 Cents is out in bookstores now and can be purchased from amazon.com by clicking on the box to the left.
Sacco is a former television talk show host and current Editor-in-Chief of Vices Magazine. He is also an established professor and international lecturer.
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