Survivor: Guatemala, Episode 6 MVPs: The Good and the Bad

This week’s episode of Survivor showed just one challenge, but two tribal councils. Players had some serious strategy to consider, and the biggest question was whether they were loyal to their former tribes or if they had truly assimilated into new tribes. With both tribal councils showing decisive votes, it seems as if for the most part, the members of Nakum and Yaxha are not thinking along old tribal lines… at least for now. When the tribes merge, that might change.

This week, on the Yaxha tribe, I had little doubt in my mind as to who deserved the MVP award. But for Nakum, I wasn’t so sure. Let’s start with the easier choice and look at Yaxha.

This week’s Yaxha MVP is none other than Amy. Brandon said it at tribal council, and I agree- Amy is impressive. She twisted her ankle once before and convinced her tribe that she was okay – despite the painful looking swelling that we saw. In the challenge this week, she was amazing. With Danni, she scored her team’s first point. But in the next round, she fell, got rolled over by the giant ball, and reinjured her ankle. Gary had to help her off the field, and Jeff Probst seemed genuinely concerned when he told her that she was up again in the very next round. Amy told him that she was not okay, but that she would make the best of it. She hobbled back onto the field, and despite her injury, scored another point! Amy has proven herself to be unbelievably tough, as well as determined. Yaxha might have opted to vote her out this week because of her injury, but she proved once again that she’s not going to let a hurt ankle keep her from winning challenges. Congratulations, Amy, on a well-deserved MVP award this week.

I have to say, I was disappointed to see my favorite player Brian voted out this week. A couple of weeks ago, I predicted that Brian was one to watch, so maybe I doomed him by taunting the Irony Fairy. If so, I’m sorry, Brian! I would love to know what strategizing went into voting out Brian. I was a bit surprised that the original Yaxhas voted out one of their own. I guess this goes to show that the new members of Yaxha may very well be thinking as a tribe and not along old tribal lines. My guess would be that Brian was considered the least athletic player on a very athletic tribe, and, worse, the best strategist. Maybe I think this because I liked him so much, but I suspect that Yaxha took out Brian because he was a threat. Brian, if you’re reading this, you’re awesome. Someday I’d love to watch Survivor with you and Rob C. from Survivor: Amazon. Now that would be a good time!

And while I’m digressing, I have to say, I can’t wait until David Bloomberg has a chance to interview Rafe, because I am very curious as to why he gave immunity to Gary. Did he think that Gary was in jeopardy? Did he want to signal to his former tribemate that they were still tight? Or did he figure Gary was safe and didn’t want his vote to disrupt what was happening with the other tribe? My bet is that he was sending Gary a message, but only time will tell.

If I were to gather the members of Nakum at tribal council and ask them who their MVP was, I don’t think I’d even get the words out before Judd would loudly proclaim that it’s him. Too bad for Judd, that’s not the case. In fact, I don’t think anyone in Nakum particularly stood out as an MVP this week, so rather than give the title to someone, let’s look at why Judd, in spite of what he thinks, is not the MVP for his tribe.

Judd has said time and time again that his is one of the “big guns” on the tribe. He pretty much feels that he can do or say anything and his tribe will keep him around because he wins challenges. While it’s great that Judd has played many the “damn sports” in his “damn life,” but that will only get him so damned far. It’s not like the rest of his tribe is made up of wimps, especially now that the less athletic Margaret is gone. Jamie and Stephenie, for example, can more than hold their own. Judd should also remember the fact that the more he reminds his tribe mates how strong he is, the more likely they will give him the axe as soon after the merge as possible.

Judd is also under the impression that he is a clever strategist. I don’t believe for a minute that he “accidentally” told Rafe that the tiles arranged to spell “ancient ruin.” His big show of complaining about his big mouth was too over the top to be believed, especially considering the fact that he “accidentally” let it slip twice. It could not be more obvious that Judd deliberately told Judd the answer so that Judd would somehow feel beholden to him. That would only work if he had handled it better. If he’d whispered something like, “Hey, buddy, try ancient ruin,” then told Rafe that he did it on purpose so his good friend would win immunity, it might have been effective. As it was, it just came across as arrogant.

And speaking of arrogance, this could well be Judd’s biggest weakness. He didn’t just stick to bragging in interviews about how he deserved an extra beer (not that he admitted taking it) because of his strength in the challenges. He was actually cocky enough to tell his team that he hoped they enjoyed the hamburgers and hot dogs that he won for them. Sorry, Judd, but you just weren’t that dominant in the challenge. Then at tribal council, he steamrollered over anyone else who had the nerve to speak, whether it was Margaret, Cindy, or even Jeff Probst himself. Judd might think he can get away with acting that way because he’s strong, but he’s not that strong. The more he runs his mouth, the more likely we are to see him running his mouth on The Early Show the Friday after he gets voted out. In short, Judd, despite what you think, you are not the MVP for Nakum this week.

That’s it for this week. Amy, stay tough, and Judd, if you know what’s best for you, stay quiet.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with comments or MVP nominations at betsywasser@gmail.com

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