Alex gets voted off.
Survivor: Fiji Blog
13th Elimination: Alex
Once again, time is limited, so I’ll jump right to the blog…
1. 3’s company, 4’s a crowd. I’m going to just focus on strategy this episode, since there’s a decent amount to talk about in that department and not a whole lot of funny or interesting subplots. The first topic I’d like to bring up is the pow-wow between Earl, Cassandra, and Yau Man about who to take to the Final Four with them. Yau Man wanted Stacy, while Cassandra wanted Dreamz. Clearly Cassandra was pulling for him as she feels she’s got him in her back pocket. While Yau Man was smart enough to realize that Cassandra would likely take along Dreamz instead of having to compete with Yau Man’s “lovable underdog” status in the final.
In the end, however, what really matters is who Earl wants to take. If it gets down to the final five and Stacy and Dreamz are vying for that fourth spot, he’ll be the one making the final call. If he’s smart, he’ll go with Stacy.
You see, right now Cassandra is absolutely the biggest threat in the game. Yeah, Yau Man has the idol. But all that accomplishes is putting a gigantic target on his back which will force him to pull it out prematurely. He’ll never reap the true benefit of it. Cassandra is the person with ties to both teams who has done a pretty good job of not ticking anybody off. That’s always a deadly combination to face in the final tribal council. Earl and Yau Man should put Stacy in the final four and then send Cassandra packing. That gives both of them a 50-50 shot at the million and prevents the inevitable 2-2 tie in the final four. It’s the only safe way to go. Knowing how calculating Earl’s been, I’d be surprised if he didn’t know this.
2. “The Ninja” ain’t so stealth after all. Ever since the merge, it’s boggled my mind that Alex and his “Four Horsemen” never tried to flip Boo. I mean, both Boo and Stacy, but especially Boo, were totally on the outs with their tribe. Those are the people you absolutely have to gun for when you’re down in numbers after the merge. When you had Alex, Edgardo, and Mookie still around, flipping Stacy and Boo should’ve been child’s play.
First off, they were part of Alex and Edgardo’s original alliance. It’s not like they would have to flip complete strangers. Second of all, they were clearly 5th and 6th in the pecking order. You absolutely have to appeal to that. All it would’ve taken was Alex approaching Boo and saying, “Look, if you pick us off one by one, that just means you’ll finish 6th. None of them like you and they’ve all said that they want you gone. So you can stick with them and be in 6th place, or you can come with us and get to at least the Final Four.”
If you’re Boo or Stacy, how do you turn that down? But the camera’s have never even showed Alex even talking to Boo. And when Alex tried to talk Stacy into voting with them two episodes back, he did it as a last second, “Hey, we’re voting Earl,” instead of including her in on the entire process and making her feel like part of the alliance. Even though it would’ve still been a good move on her part, I can only fault her so much for not going with him.
All this is to say that Alex failed to use this time-tested strategy all the way to the end. He was still trying to pull the, “Hey, isn’t Boo annoying. You guys should get rid of him.” routine with Cassandra and Dreamz. What would that have accomplished? He just would’ve finished 6th instead of 7th. Alex’s best approach was to let Boo, Stacy, and Dreamz know that Earl was running the show and that they were all set to finish 4th, 5th, and 6th. And if they joined forces with Alex, they could potentially change that to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. But he never even tried it.
Inexcusable.
3. Malaysian Idol. The one good strategy Alex did try was to get Cassandra, Dreamz, and Earl to blindside Yau Man. Even though he won’t be hanging onto it for long, Yau Man’s idol still has a fair amount of power. And the man is clearly playing for himself. That’s a combo that everyone should be looking to get rid of. Now that it’s down to the final six, Yau Man can harness the power of his idol and allign with Stacy and Boo to overtake the other three. If he does this and the game goes down to a three-way final like last season, that’ll be the easiest million this game’s ever seen.
Since Earl can’t stand Alex and feels that he’s in control of Yau Man, it’s no surprise that he didn’t go along with Alex’s plan. But I’m not quite sure why Cassandra passed up the opportunity. Had she gone with Dreamz, Stacy, and Alex and taken out Yau Man, she would’ve officially assumed the power position in the game. That’s not always a good thing early on, but it’s a pretty solid position once you hit the final six.
The only people in the game who might possibly beat her in the final are Earl and Yau Man. By pulling the blindside, she could’ve knocked them both off in the next two votes. I know that it’s usually better to stay loyal to the cause, but even if Earl and Yau Man felt backstabbed, who would they vote for over her in the end anyway. Alex? Dreamz? Stacy? I don’t think so. Also, could Alex or Stacy turn the tables on her in the final four? Sure. But so could Earl and Yau Man. I just don’t see the downside here.
Knocking off Yau Man afforded Cassandra the opportunity to decimate her competitors while still keeping their votes in the end. That’s a rare opportunity, and it’s one you just don’t pass up.
But of course she did. Let’s face it, there hasn’t been a single person in this game, except for Earl, who’s played the game smart the entire way through. And that’s why I’m letting go of my grudge and pulling for Edgardo’s arch-nemesis to walk away with the million. That’s saying a lot considering how stubborn I usually am. Am I maturing? Maybe. But truth be told, I just don’t want to live in a world where Dreamz has a million dollars to blow.
