Survivor: Pearl Islands, Episode 6 MVPs – Follow the Leaders

Well, it finally happened and I knew it eventually would – someone jumped on the merge train and it ended up getting them voted out. Future contestants in this game need to realize that the merge is not guaranteed to happen when there are ten people left. Contestants in the past have had to learn that the hard way. What does that have to do with choosing an MVP? Well, not really a whole lot, but I really get unnerved when someone who is in a good position opens their mouth and blows the whole thing. That’s what happened to Trish this week, who was in a great position in her tribe and lost it all after she opened her mouth to Sandra about voting off Rupert. Oh well! So who were our MVPs this week? I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.

Drake started out in the hole by having to deal with Michelle being gone. However, everyone rallied together and managed to win the reward challenge, which I feel took much more skill than most think. When it was time for the immunity challenge, did anyone else think that that could have been possibly set up the way that it was on purpose? What a coincidence that it favored the tribe with the three strong men. I mean, c’mon, there is no way that Jon could have done that challenge – 40 pounds and he would have been done. Although Christa held just as much as Osten did, and he is allegedly the strongest member on the Morgan tribe, which I feel is VERY debatable at this point.

When choosing an MVP for the Drake tribe, I thought it would be a little tough, but in reality, it wasn’t. Trish royally screwed up by opening her mouth, saying that it was time to get rid of Rupert. Shawn is a bumbling moron and Jon flip flops alliances as the tide comes and goes. I can’t choose Sandra for an MVP simply because she doesn’t do anything but gossip, however, I still love her. Was anyone else dying of laughter when she admitted that she had known she wasn't going at tribal council? It was so true and Sandra always tells it like it is. I did choose Christa as an honorable mention. She kicked a** at the immunity challenge and was the one to tip off Rupert that he was going to get the boot if he didn’t act soon, prompting him to go talk to Shawn before Jon or Trish did. Christa and Rupert are tight – that is clear. I think Sandra is right in there with them. The three of them probably have the tightest alliance in the game thus far. Anyway, kudos to Christa for the honorable mention, she deserved it this week.

As far as an MVP, it’s Rupert. It has to be. As usual, he was out there catching fish for the tribe and has been the provider for all. He hit his mark at the reward challenge and during immunity he held on for as long as he could with so much weight resting on his shoulders. It was definitely a smart move for Morgan to target Rupert first. Although he was the first one eliminated from Drake, he held more weight than anyone. Then came Rupert's big move for the week – when he went out, rallied, and saved his a**. Rupert found out from Christa that Jon and Trish were gunning for him so he got to Shawn first and secured his vote. Then, at tribal council, he made it quite clear that he was not aware everyone was out to get him and going behind his back, putting Trish in her place. I have to give it up to Rupert this week; he played it all perfectly and didn’t sit around and let people take him out. Unlike some other people, he rallied his defense and pulled in the swing vote. That makes him an MVP this week.

Now, let’s take a look at Morgan. First off, and I have to say this: Osten could be the biggest baby to ever get in this game. He complains about everything, as Ryan mentioned this week. There is nothing that doesn’t bother this guy. If they end up having to get rid of someone, it should definitely be him before Darrah. He’s constantly quitting and quite frankly, I think everyone is pretty sick of it. Speaking of Darrah, she did a pretty good job at the reward challenge this week and on the immunity as well, knowing where to place the weights at the right time, along with Tijuana. Ryan gets props from me for being nice to the pelican, unlike that @$$#ole, Osten, who started sharpening a machete saying he would cut its head off. All this from the guy who was scared of it while it was walking towards him. Yeah, whatever. Well, that only leaves us with one person I haven’t mentioned yet. That’s right, their leader is finally the MVP – it’s Andrew!

Andrew had a very impressive week. Even though he didn’t do all that well at the reward challenge, he bounced back the second the looting started. When Jon came over and was a d*ck, Andrew acted like he didn’t care and then brutally tore him apart on camera and to the rest of the tribe, raising morale and making everyone want the next win to show Drake that they are just as tough. Andrew was also the main man in the immunity challenge. He held his weight for the longest time and STILL managed to offer words of encouragement to the rest of his tribe while everyone knew he was in pain. Then, when the immunity challenge was over, he cried. He didn’t cry like a baby, but he cried because he was proud, and I thought that was quite admirable. I didn’t realize how much the Morgan tribe looked to Andrew as their leader until then. And now I see why.

There you have it folks, this week’s MVPs. Now, if next week is the merge, which I have no idea if it will be or not, there will only be one MVP. If not, I’m going to continue to pick one from each tribe. From what we have seen in next week’s previews, looks like things are going to get very interesting, and I can’t wait to see how. Either way, I’ll be here to pick out our MVPs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if one of them is Andrew or Rupert again – because they are both on a roll.

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

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