Not Surviving Micronesia: I Dream of Quitting

At the beginning of the episode, Kathy tried to take herself out of the game via an “I Dream of Jeannie” move, only to open her eyes and find out she was still on the island. Where Jeannie failed, Jeff Probst succeeded, and per her wishes, she was removed from the game. Such was the latest in a series of unpredictable events that have occurred this season.

In fact, Fans vs. Faves may set a record for most times throwing the viewers for a loop. If there’s one person I feel sorry for, it’s RNO colleague Kari Kennedy, charged with writing the “Who Will Go” articles. So far, predicting the next bootee is about as easy as blowing up a balloon, letting it go without tying it, and predicting where it will land.

In many ways listening to Kathy was like watching one of those balloons: you could never tell exactly where it was headed. Then she stunned her tribe, and America, by waving the proverbial white flag and quitting.

There will no doubt be many who feel Kathy deserves a place in the Hall of Shame for quitting the game, but is that fair? You bet it is! One of the ironies is that she quit because Jonathan had to be taken out of the game, but Jonathan himself would never have left the game if he didn’t have to. Call me cold-hearted, but there’s a huge difference between leaving due to a life-threatening infection and “not feeling your family.”

Now, I can appreciate the fact that Kathy misses her husband and child, but she should’ve thought about that before agreeing to do the show. Somewhere out there, somebody must’ve been screaming at the boob tube when Kathy decided to make her exit, and thought, “I can’t believe they gave that whack job my spot and she just up and quit!”

In fact, I just heard from one such reader, who states, “Part of me feels bad for Kathy that she had to spend so much time on Exile Island, that had to be tough, but I’d love to get the chance to be the person sent to Exile Island after every reward challenge.”

Contrast this to Tracy, who, like, Kathy, is a mom in her 40s. While one lady couldn’t take it anymore and dropped – or rather, wimped out – the other did everything in the world to keep herself in the game, and would’ve given anything for the chance to keep playing.

Here’s another contrast to nibble on: Kathy said more than once that entering the game was the stupidest thing she had ever done, while Tracy, in her RNO interview, says it’s a great experience, and she’d do it again in a heartbeat. While I doubt she’ll get that chance, she’s earned it if for no other reason than attitude, in my opinion. Kathy, however, says she would never do it again, but that’s pretty much a moot point, since I don’t see any way the producers would invite her back after she up and quit.

Here’s another reason Kathy deserves her rightful place in the HOS: of all the times to quit, she did it in a season that was all about fans. Yet for someone who professed to be a fan of the show, she showed a surprising amount of naiveté regarding the conditions. Did she really think it only rained for 30 seconds? Other seasons have made it clear the rain could at times be relentless. Remember the Amazon season, when Joanna asserted the storm was God’s way of expressing his wrath over the immunity idol? Nobody quit that season, did they?

Now, granted, Kathy wasn’t long for the game anyway, and probably would’ve been the next one voted out had the Airai tribe lost. But she couldn’t wait, and thus put her tribemates in a bit of danger they didn’t deserve to be in.

Now, we’ve known since the first episode Kathy is a bit out there, and she knows it. Indeed, she even labeled herself a misfit in her RNO interview. She stated that her initial strategy was to bond with other misfits. Okay, on the surface, that’s not a bad idea. Hey, I’ve been a misfit all my life, and find myself drawn to similar people. But in a situation like Survivor, it’s my view that a misfit’s best strategy is to adapt to the others in the tribe as much as possible. In other words, play the hand that’s dealt ya. But Kathy blew any chance to make a favorable impression on the other fans right away by her conversation with Chet.

The weirdness that is Kathy continued right on up until she left the game for good. In a sense, she was the Yogi Berra of Survivor; that is, saying things that make you take a double take trying to figure out what she meant. If she had her own segment on the show, it would be titled, “Things that make you go HUH?”

First off, there was her comment that when she woke up she hadn’t gotten any sleep. And who could forget the oxymoronic “dead crawling things.” I’m surprised we didn’t hear her say, to paraphrase Yogi, “That cave’s so crowded nobody goes in it anymore.” Kathy needs to realize, in Survivor, as in baseball, it ain’t over till it’s over, and that if the game were perfect, it wouldn’t be. Readers familiar with Yogi and his famous malapropisms are hopefully getting a good chuckle right now.

Then, of course, there was her comment that she didn’t want her teammates to think she was quitting. Well, then, what do YOU call it? Too bad she didn’t say, “I’m not quitting, I’m leaving the game,” and leave her tribe, Jeff Probst, and viewers all over America scratching their heads.

What about her comment that she was the unluckiest person on the island? Well, if she was, that’s only because Jonathan wasn’t around anymore. The guy gets a second chance to play, then has to withdraw for medical reasons, and she thinks SHE’S unlucky? What about her remaining tribemates, whom she put at a potential disadvantage by quitting before the next Tribal Council? They’re the unlucky ones, if you ask me.

Now, I realize the conditions out there must’ve been brutal, but you know what? It rains on the fans and faves alike, and no one else quit the game, did they? Okay, besides Jonny Goodriddance. In any case, they all lived through it, and learned that the sun will indeed come out tomorrow. But while tomorrow is always a day away, it couldn’t come soon enough for Kathy.

What can we make of her statements that she was doing this for others? First off, I wonder how her sister felt about learning that she lives vicariously through Kathy? If that’s true, she may be even nuttier than Kathy, and that’s apparently saying quite a bit. Second of all, does Kathy really expect us to believe that throughout the whole elaborate process of applying to the show, that she was doing it for everyone else but her?

She tried to make it sound as if her friends and family pushed her right onto the island, but frankly, I’m not buying a word of it. If she were as reluctant as she claims, the producers probably would’ve caught on and never cast her in the first place, or at least I hope they wouldn’t. Ironically, she claimed to be doing this for others, but her decision to quit was ultimately rather selfish and could’ve put her tribe at risk unnecessarily.

Well, you may or may not agree with my assessment of Kathy, but we got a couple of weeks to talk about it. See you soon!

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

Ken tried that little “I Dream of Jeannie” move, but still hasn’t purged himself of the notion that Kathy belongs in the HOS. He can be reached at YourNextOfKen@aol.com.

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