Survivor: China, Episode 13: As I See It –“All I Have?”

OK, so since when does a final four finalist get extra money from Mark Burnett because she cried about not winning and lost her lunch lady job? Never, that’s when. Denise’s employer has issued a statement that what she portrayed on Survivor was false. She did not lose her job. The full explanation can be viewed here. And didn’t/doesn’t Denise have a husband who is employed? It’s not like she was going to be living out of her car if she didn’t win Survivor. Now who’s pulled the “Jonny Fairplay” act on us and Mark Burnett?

I was on Denise’s side almost this whole season, thinking that perhaps she was likeable and could/would step up her game at some point. Did she? Nope. Instead, when push came to shove, she tried her guilt trip on Amanda to convince her that she deserved to be in the final three because this is all she has. All she has? I beg to differ.

Denise has a loving husband, a home, and a family. If she is saying this is detrimental then my sympathy for her has gone flying right out the window. A lot of people would like the home, husband, and family to be all they have. I also wonder what her husband and daughter think knowing “all I have” is a negative factor in her life.

There have been single mothers, single fathers, and financially desperate contestants on Survivor. Denise, though, will always remain in my mind as the one who thought she should win because, as Courtney put it so eloquently, “her life sucks.”

Did Denise scheme and plot? Not much. Did she make any of the moves that it takes to win Survivor? No. She seemed to believe that because she felt she was needy that she deserved to win. Since when is Survivor about who needs to win? If it were, Jenna in Season 1 would have won, being the single mother of twins.

Denise certainly played the sympathy card hard at the end, and I, for one, was embarrassed for her. I was also hoping that she would not win the popularity poll against James and Peih-Gee. At least one of my wishes came true. I think Denise was popular with a lot of people until last night.

When Denise made the comment about doing anything she could to win, again the challenge(s) involving the chicken fetuses came to my mind. If you would do anything to win, you would have choked and gagged those things down instead of saying, “I can’t do it.” Now that would be doing anything you have to do to win. I am now stepping off my soapbox about Denise. I just pity her now, but I also pity all those other Survivor contestants who came in fourth and didn’t get anything from Mark Burnett. I would bet a lot of them lost their jobs for real.

I was wrong – I admit it when I am – Amanda was not as much of a power player as I thought she was. I thought Amanda spurred some of Todd’s actions on, but Todd’s strategy may have been to let her do just that. He was taking the heat for her decisions and letting her be the “nice” one. I really thought, prior to the finale, that Amanda was going to win. I would have bet on it. When I heard her jury answers, I knew she was a goner. Even her posture indicated that she was way too apologetic. If she had said, “I lied, it’s a game,” perhaps the outcome would have been different.

When I’d been watching and expecting Amanda to win, I didn’t factor in Todd’s well thought out answers to the jury. To see Jean-Robert rendered speechless was awesome, and James made it even more so by his comments and laughing. I thought Peih-Gee was trying to be angry, but it just didn’t come across. Jaime did everything she could to get the final three to bad-mouth each other, but that didn’t happen like she wanted it to. There was no Sue Hawk diatribe like she was hoping for.

Courtney was almost interesting in her answers to the jury. She knew she was the tagalong, she knew that her personality rubbed some the wrong way and she was honest about all of this. I found myself liking Courtney for the first time all season.

Denise, during the jury questions, still managed to convey that “I’m always the last one picked” persona that is going to get her nowhere in real life. James, in his jury comments, was as cute and charming as always – I thought it was refreshing that he asked what the most fun was for Courtney. And Courtney actually smiled when she answered. Jean-Robert may think he has a silver tongue, but I’m betting James is the one who really does. Frosti was just the little cutie pie he was all season and I really still wish we could have seen more of his parcour talents. Erik was kind, and I thought it interesting to note at the reunion that he and Jaime are dating. I didn’t think Jeff had to ask Erik about the status of his virginity. Come on, Jeff, some things are private!

Jeff pointed out that Todd was 14 years old when Survivor first started and he had been watching the program ever since its inception. To say that Todd was a student of Survivor is an understatement. He may have seemed like a weasel to some, but as he explained to his strategy to Jeff and the jury, he seemed to me to be a likeable weasel. Obviously he did to the jury also. I was really surprised that none of the jurors questioned the miscarriage incident; Todd’s explanations must have convinced them that the situation was real, otherwise it would/could have been a juror’s issue.

I noticed that Todd was quick on the uptake and answered the jurors with a compliment and an explanation that suited each individual. He was suave, he was smarmy, he was sneaky, he lied, he backstabbed, but he is also a million dollars richer today. He said in the beginning he was going to play hard and he did. He said he was going to do anything it took to win and he did. And I say, good for him! He won it fair and square. And without whining about how needy he was.

Peace!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: China articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

Eileen is an intake operator for a legal referral service in Cincinnati, Ohio by day and spends her free time with the little ones that call her the “Queen of the Grandmas” and their parents and practicing Yoga which she thought was going to be the “lazy woman’s exercise”. She got fooled. She welcomes comments and constructive criticism at ohiograndma2003@hotmail.com