Survivor: Pearl Islands, Episode 4 MVPs – Something to Talk About

Well, I knew it would happen one week or another – Morgan has given me something to talk about. Drake, on the other hand, was lacking in the MVP department this week. I mean, Rupert has been on a roll and casting the other tribe members in shadow. Did someone else finally step up this week to be the new MVP? Yup, someone did, and you’ll be surprised to find out who. But first, I actually want to take a look at Morgan this week.

Finally, good old Morgan has pulled through. Yeah, you can say that Drake threw the immunity challenge, but I think Morgan had a pretty good shot of winning it anyway. Rupert is only one man so they still would have needed several other people to get to the end of the course. Quite frankly, Morgan was due for a win anyway and how cool was it to finally see them smile again. I just wish Lill would have been there instead of Darrah, but then again maybe I’m still a little bitter. Oh well, I’ll live. Anyway, I actually do have some things to say about Morgan and the MVP department this week.

First off, I’m liking Tijuana more and more each week. I think of all the people on Morgan, she has the most morale, and from a certain standpoint, I think she holds all the cards. We know she has an alliance with Osten because we have seen how hard she worked to make sure he didn’t quit. We also know that she has an alliance with Andrew because he has said so. I’m willing to bet that Darrah thinks she is one of her allies as well. So, it is safe to say that Tijuana is making the right moves to take her to at least the jury. I’m going to give her an honorable mention this week because I’ve finally realized how smart she really is. Good job, T!

As far as an MVP, I’m going to go with Ryan. One quick thing about Ryan: Why does Jeff and everyone else still say “Ryan O.?” I mean, the other Ryan is gone, there is no need to keep saying the last initial. I’m over it. Anyway, Ryan has been designated as Morgan’s MVP for a few reasons. The first is that I think when it comes to challenges, he has been pretty consistent. He did rather well in the reward challenge this week and even the tribe noted that he was the best swimmer when someone had to head out and save Osten. That’s another story that I promised myself I wouldn’t get into. Anyway, besides that, he has always been the one to provide insight as to what is going on with the tribe morale-wise. With that being the case, I can only assume that he has a personal relationship with everyone to know what and how they are feeling. Just like Tijuana, I think he is doing the right thing and getting to know everyone while leaving his options open for a core alliance that will happen when the merge occurs. Ryan also had the initiative to go fishing on numerous times. Every time we’ve seen someone fishing, it has been Ryan. Well, except for when Lill went last week and lost the last hook. This week, Ryan and Andrew went spear fishing even though they never actually got to the fishing location. The thing to remember is, his intentions are good and I think at this point everyone sees that. I’m so glad I actually had an MVP this week for Morgan, and I’m double glad because there was an honorable mention as well. Keep it up, Morgan, little do you know the squabbling over at Drake. It could be your biggest advantage.

Speaking of Drake, I’m not even sure where to begin. I was looking forward to Rupert sweeping up the MVP this week, and to an extent, he did an amazing job. He did a good job during the reward challenge and was the only correct one in wearing a dress – who is going to see you out there besides the other castaways, and they are in the same boat you are. Also, if the people on TV make fun, who cares! You gotta do what ya gotta do, ya know? So, I’m going to give Rupert an honorable mention this week because he correctly got all the ladies together and let them in on the plan that was hatching. He successfully had Burton removed from the tribe and he wasn’t even there for tribal council. I like to think that even though Burton and Shawn looked at themselves as the leaders of the tribe, they can both now realize that Rupert is the one running the show.

Now this may seem a little shocking, but the Drake tribe’s MVP this week is Jon. I know, I know, people are probably cursing up a storm, but it’s true. Even while being drunk half the time he pulled quite a fast one. When everyone thought he would be the first to go, he turned around and was probably the decision-maker. Some will say that he is annoying and I have to agree. However, it wasn’t really having an effect on the other members of the tribe because they were all laughing at what he was saying and doing in order to get his vote. Sure, it was fake, but nobody wanted to piss him off, which means he was in a position of power, like it or not. I’m not that fond of Jon, but he knew exactly where he stood this week and used it to his advantage. For that reason, I’m making him the MVP.

So there you have it, our two MVPs this week: Ryan and Jon. Do I think that either of them will be the MVP next week? Well, with Ryan it’s a possibility, but with Jon, I’m not really so sure. Now that his usefulness is done, everyone will probably go right back to thinking that he is ultra-annoying, me being one of them. If he would learn to shut his mouth and lay off the booze while on the island, he would probably be in a better situation right now rather than being the MVP only because people needed him to survive. But hey, it worked this week so maybe it will next week as well. Ryan just needs to keep working on an alliance because I think if lands with the right people (Tijuana) I think he has a pretty good shot at getting very far in this game. However, how many times to do we have to realize nice guys get the shaft in this game (Hunter, Dave, Ryan S.), so it really wouldn’t surprise me to see him go before the merge. Look for me next week to find out who the MVP is, and if Rupert can bounce back from his time over at Morgan. Should be a good one!

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

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