Survivor: Thailand, Episode 6 MVPs: Motivation or Procrastination?

This week we were treated to Robb having an evangelical turnover and deciding that the game has changed his life forever. I didn’t buy it for a second, and still don’t. Also, I do not want anyone thinking that I wasn’t close to losing my lunch when Penny said Robb was an MVP in the reward challenge. Granted, he did a good job, but he is further away from being MVP on his tribe than anyone else. There has not been a split second where I even contemplated making Robb the MVP. He spoke to people so rudely, and I was secretly hoping Ken would put him further in his place than he actually did. Anyway, each tribe did have an MVP this week, and these people actually played the game and were of value.

Let’s take a look at Chuay Gahn and see who we have in the running for this week’s MVP award. We have Jan, who I secretly adore. It’s really a shame how out there she is. However, it has been said that people who love animals are some of the most compassionate people there are. I agree with this. Jan is not really ever seen plotting and always tries to keep everyone happy. Even though she is not the brightest person in her tribe, she is caring, which goes a long way. There is Clay, who still constantly gets on my nerves and I don’t want to talk about it. Helen, who I think has more brains than the others in her tribe put together. Brian comes and goes, never really on camera, and Ted, who pretty much has been the leader of the tribe since they formed. So after careful deliberation of this week’s nominees, I have come to the conclusion that Ted deserves to be the MVP this week for Chuay Gahn.

Ted seemed to make up for his actions last week. Last week, we got to see Ted lose the boat, and then blame the monkey in the tree. This week, Ted took responsibility for his actions and went to search for the boat. Although the group of men could not find it, at least they took some kind of initiative. However, they procrastinated too long, and by the time they actually went to look for it, it was so far gone even the cameramen didn’t know where it was. The effort was there, though. Ted also helped out tremendously at the reward challenge. I believe that if it wasn’t for him that knuckle-head Robb would have had a clean sweep on Chuay Gahn. Ted was smart enough to call the time out and switch with Brian to cover Robb, and he was apparently way more effective at doing the job. Even though they still lost the challenge, Ted encouraged everyone during the whole thing (even though sometimes it was a bit demanding) and tried his best to keep from losing. Even after the challenge Ted told his tribe that he hates to lose, and that although it may seem like he is yelling at them, he is just encouraging them, and wants to win. Ted is a real competitor, and it shows. This is admirable because he is there to win and always does his best to do so. During the immunity challenge Ted made the comment that they had to remove two poles in order to win. Thank God they listened to him because I also heard good old Clay saying that only one pole had to be removed. I swear sometimes Clay thinks out of his rear. Anyway, Ted showed great leadership this week and was by far the MVP in his tribe.

It was nice to see more of Sook Jai this week. I can finally evaluate the tribe, and figure out more easily who is doing what. It’s a shame Stephanie is no longer there, and they have to go and gather their own food and boil their own water. I have to say though that I love when tribe members have that episode when they come into their own. This was the episode when that happened to Penny. In the beginning of the episode we have Robb confronting Penny about her voting at Tribal Council, and if she had ever contemplated voting for him. Of course, she denied it, and said it was a rumor. Good choice on Penny’s part. There is no reason starting a fight with Robb when everyone pretty much knew he was the next to go anyway. Penny was also a force to be reckoned with in the reward challenge. She was launching those balls like it was her second job. There was nothing funnier than watching her tell Robb and Ken to stop bickering. Penny really took charge in that challenge. She also showed her caring side as she shed tears when Robb was telling his drunken stories about how he has a new zest for life, and she started up again when he was voted out. I think Penny has the game wrapped up. At this point, everyone seems to like her, and there really isn’t anybody talking bad about her except for when Shii Ann stated that they don’t trust one another. Penny was an MVP this week because she outshined her whole tribe. It seemed like her comments were shown more, and she took an active role in everything the tribe did this week. I like Penny, and hope to see her win the award again.

There it is. The motivator and the procrastinator are this week’s Survivor MVPs. For the most part, I don’t think this will be the last time either will win this award, as it is already the second time Ted has had it (the whole Ghandia drama was the first time). Ted and Penny both have a grasp on how to play the game, and they are both in an alliance within their respective tribes. However, at this point, Ted is more vulnerable because his alliance only consists of Brian and himself. Well, maybe to an extent Clay, but I think Clay has to have an alliance with his brain first, that way he can start thinking. Anyway, next week should be interesting to see if the merge really occurs. If it does, there will only be one MVP, and if it doesn’t, there will be the standard two. However, if you feel there should still be two, feel free to email me and tell me why. Let’s see what happens next week, to find out who will be the Survivor MVP(s).

Phil Kural is a junior at Temple University, and can be reached at pkural@astro.temple.edu with any MVP suggestions.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recent Survivor articles at the Survivor Thailand page and take a look at our sections on Big Brother 3 and The Osbournes. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check out RealityTVFans.com and SirLinksALot!