Survivor: Palau – Why Jonathan Lost

The first two people sent packing from Survivor: Palau were not actually voted off – though they were not voted on either. Both of them had the opportunity to stick around, but neither was picked. Normally we have a bit more to go on when we’re looking back at the blueprint article, What Palau Survivors Should Have Learned. But we’ll take what we’ve got and see if we can figure out why Jonathan lost.

You might be surprised, but at least a good chunk of the answer to this question can be found in the very first rule, scheming and plotting. Specifically:

From the very beginning, you have to start making alliances and cementing relationships. Under normal circumstances, it can be difficult to know whom you can trust after just a couple days … but either you do it, or you’re gone.

But it went further. Jonathan was not just a guy who didn’t immediately make pals – Coby went out of his way to convince people that Jonathan should go! At that stage of the game, it was probably fairly easy to get people thinking that way because 1) it meant people were focusing on somebody other than them, and 2) they didn’t want to be the ones to argue and possibly have the target shift.

While Coby was talking to people in anticipation of a voting out scenario, it seems to have stuck in people’s minds when it came time to essentially vote people in.

The second rule, about scheming and plotting too much, played no role here as far as we know. The third, however, might have. It’s unclear why Coby, Gregg, and Caryn didn’t particularly like Jonathan. But whatever the cause, he apparently wasn’t “nice” enough to them. Also, the way the tribes were picked meant that he needed at least one female ally who would pick him over somebody else. It seems he didn’t have any.

The fourth rule didn’t seem to play any sort of role, but the fifth might have. Jonathan was one buff guy. He appeared to be strong and ready for anything. He also apparently thought mighty highly of himself, since he was one of the first two to go overboard from the boat into the water in an attempt to swim for immunity. While we, again, have little to go on, it’s possible that some of the others thought of him as too much of a threat.

Some of his fellow contestants might also have questioned him as a team player, which could also be viewed as threatening. Almost everybody else stayed in the boat while he jumped out. Could some have viewed that as a betrayal of sorts? I tend to doubt it, but then Katie did mention that he became a target when he jumped in.

Moving to the sixth rule, even the three main instigators who were going after Jonathan said that he worked hard. So laziness was obviously not a factor.

How about flexibility, the seventh rule? Well, this version of Survivor certainly started out differently than any before it! Some of the contestants were flexible enough to realize that they needed to scramble. Jonathan did not appear to be one of them.

So what did we discover by this rather short look at Jonathan’s even shorter stay? Although he was not specifically voted off, a few of the same rules applied. Jonathan did not, as far as we know, make specific attempts to ally with people. In the meantime, others made very specific attempts to ally against him. Coby planted a seed in people’s minds about Jonathan needing to go. In this incredibly early stage of the game, it didn’t take much for that seed to grow. Jonathan did not have an apparent backup plan or an ally who could save him. That is why Jonathan lost.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Palau Episode 7 articles:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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