An “Insider” Look at Survivor: Gabon Episode 10 -- “To Hell with These People”

Randy’s Final Words

“Well, I guess you guys are having a good laugh out there,” Randy begins. Well, he’s right about me. I was laughing. Randy goes on to say he isn’t sure what went down at Tribal Council since Susie got three votes.

Randy bitterly complains that “Anything that Susie has heard in the last 30 days, she repeats.” Randy says that “Bob knows that Corinne and I have been tearing him a new one every day.” Randy wants ice cream and scotch. “To hell with these people!”

Going beyond the pale, Randy declares, “I hope Bob has a heart attack.” Randy hopes Corinne does well as he doesn’t think she betrayed him. He thinks well of Matty too. He hopes the others get bitten by a green mamba.

Randy thinks if he keeps a few friends from this game then that’s great. The rest are “dumb asses.” Randy thinks he is way superior to them. He’s going to find it tough to be on the jury. Randy hopes Corinne wasn’t playing him. “If Susie, and Crystal, and Sugar make the final three, I think the only way out is suicide.” Randy just wants to get out of there and get drunk.

Wow. I thought Randy seemed like a bit of a creep on the show. I thought he came across as a somewhat dumber than I expected jerk in his interview with David. Now I think he is just a complete ass. For strategizing against him, Randy thinks Bob should die and they are idiots. Oh, and Randy admits he and Corinne treated Bob terribly, yet Bob deserves to die for getting Randy out of the game. Yes, Randy could have made a strategic point about his being so despicable he’s a worthy choice to take to the finals… but I don’t think that’s his point here. Again I say, wow.

Randy, the Day After

Unlike most Survivors, Randy actually looks worse in his next day clip. He has a sketchy looking Mohawk highlighting the pale flesh on the rest of his newly shaved skull. He just looks bad. Anyway.

Randy starts off by saying his time on Survivor was as much fun as he’s ever had and as little fun as he’s ever had. The first nine days was bad, but then he went to Kota and it was great. He loved winning challenges and could have done that for years. But then they merged and it was back to bad.

Randy knew there would be people he wouldn’t like in the game. He thought the million dollars would make it worth his faking it, “and I was wrong. It could have been ten million – it could have been a hundred million!” Randy says he couldn’t have lasted nine more minutes, let alone nine more days.

Randy says he just spews whatever comes into his head. “People can relate to that.” He thinks other people wish they had the guts to do that. Or perhaps, like me, they think such lack of control and empathy is pathetic – not admirable.

The first week or two of the game, Randy says, everyone is guarded and every move they make is out of fear. “I was guilty of that myself.” He says that going around “pissing people off” worked better for him, even if he did take it too far at the end. Randy notes that, if the hat had changed a few people, he could have made it all the way to the end of the game.

Randy’s best moment was playing water polo on the new Kota tribe. He made all three goals and knew he was accepted. Randy thought he could get to the end of the game at that point. Randy loved being on Kota. The flip side of it is if you’re on a horrible tribe like Fang, it is really hard work. “It was a piece of cake,” on Kota.

Randy says that he surprised himself by making some real friends at Kota, ones he thinks he’ll keep for years to come. “I’ve not been a social being in the world.” The game has taught Randy, that he might be able to actually socialize a bit with humans in the real world. He was surprised how many people really liked him in the game. “I’m very close to a lot of these people. I haven’t felt that closeness in 20-some years.” Randy hopes he can take that back into the real world.

I think there are a lot of reasons why Randy doesn’t have friends in “the real world.” He doesn’t seem like a very nice person, and doesn’t seem capable of treating others well if it is any effort for him at all. I hope his experiences on Survivor change that in him, but I’m not sure how likely that really is. The funny thing about Randy is that many (but not all) Survivors seem more likable when you see them on these interviews after the show. And Randy… not so much. In fact, quite the reverse.

Susie’s Plan

Susie’s wearing the clothes she got during the auction in this clip. She interviews that the group, originally, was discussing whether to vote off Bob or Randy. It became a power struggle between Matty and Crystal. “In our own little five, those two are the ones that are battling a little bit.”

Susie says she tried to tell Matty that Crystal’s calling the shots. Matty said that they could take Randy out now, but Bob has to go next. Susie believes Matty’s okay with the plan. But she found it difficult when all the other members of her alliance came to her and asked if she thought Matty was loyal. Susie does trust him.

Bob’s stronger in challenges, but Randy is a difficult person. “I was kind of letting Crystal and Matty battle it out.” They caved when Sugar started crying. She really wants Randy out, and since she gave them the numbers they needed, she’s due some respect. So, Randy’s going home. “The tribe should be a lot more comfortable.”

This is an interesting interview. We’ve seen Crystal pointed to over and over as the person calling the shots in the alliance. And Matty is apparently pushing her a bit. I wonder if that will crop up as an important schism later in the game?

Sugar’s Two Alliances

Sugar interviews that she, Matty, and Susie went for a walk. Sugar wanted to make sure they were going to keep the five together. Suddenly, they started making an alliance with her! Sugar says she was thinking that she already has an alliance with Kenny and Crystal, “but I can’t tell them that because I want to be top three no matter what.” Sugar thinks it’s pretty cool that she has two options to do it with.

Sugar plans on staying true to her alliance with Kenny. She thinks she has a better chance of coming in second in that alliance, with Crystal third. Sugar straight out acknowledges that Kenny would win in that final three, “That’s fine. He deserves it. He’s become a man on this trip. I have become a liar and a traitor. So, I don’t mind coming in second to Kenny at all.” But Sugar acknowledges that you never know what will happen in this game. “I like surprises.”

Wow. Sugar really did sound completely okay with Kenny winning the game over her. She also seems to have a good understanding of what she’s done in the game and how some folks may perceive her. I can’t agree, strategically, with ceding a win like that, but I have to say it’s refreshing to hear someone understand how others perceive them and not just blame the others for that.