Survivor: Exile Island – Why Bobby Lost

Bobby was a strong competitor but never really seemed to fit in with his tribe. Even so, he almost made it past Tribal Council. What happened to turn the tide against him? Why did Bobby lose?

The vote against Bobby was interesting, as it hinged not just on his own actions, but on the actions of others in the tribe. Still, all of it can be analyzed through the lens of What Exile Island Survivors Should Have Learned. So let’s get to it.

First and foremost, Survivor players should know they have to scheme and plot like their lives depend on it – because in the game, they often do. However, it seemed like neither of the two main targets this week were really doing any serious game play. Bruce was so out of the loop that he voted against one of the people who was saving him! And Bobby said in his final words that his game really never got off the ground.

Yes, Bobby did make a deal with Shane, after Shane pretty much forced the issue. But it seems Bobby was holding back, hoping to make the merge, and would really begin to play at that point. However, any student of the game knows that, as this rule says, “From the very beginning, you have to start making alliances and cementing relationships.” In other words, you can’t wait for the merge and just hope to end up there.

Ironically, at the same time Bobby was failing to scheme and plot enough, he was also scheming and plotting too much! Bobby flat-out told Bruce, admittedly in a somewhat inebriated state, that he would flip the minute they got to the merge. I suspect he might have made other references, because Shane (at first), Danielle, Courtney, and Cirie were all convinced that Bobby would flee their tribal alliance the moment he had an opportunity. It’s not clear just what made them realize this, but perhaps Bobby’s obvious disdain for them gave them a bit of a hint.

The third rule says to be flexible. Bobby was apparently planning on being quite flexible – and jumping ship. He was also flexible enough to realize an opportunity when it presented itself in the form of Shane’s deal. The one place Bobby was not flexible was in being able to deal with his tribemates on a routine basis and make alliances with them, even if they were distasteful to him.

Which brings us directly to the fourth rule, about not letting emotions control you. Bobby admitted in his final words that he could have played it differently, but he just couldn’t stomach some of his tribemates. That’s pretty much the definition of allowing emotions to control you.

And I suspect Bobby wasn’t doing real well with the fifth rule, either – pretending to be nice. In fact, most of the Casaya tribe seems to have forgotten about this one. But Bobby was one of the most upfront about his feelings. The rest of the tribe was debating how to use the outhouse – so he stepped up and used it for, well, what it’s supposed to be used for! Courtney got upset that he drank the wine, and he told her off, flat-out. Even his apologies weren’t real apologies – he didn’t say he was sorry for taking an action, he said he was sorry that somebody else was upset he took that action. It was obvious to everybody that he did not particularly like many of his tribemates.

The sixth rule tells players not to be too much of a threat. We’ve already discussed how several tribe members felt Bobby would immediately jump ship at the merge. That, my friends, is a huge threat. A tribal alliance needs to go into the merge with a majority. But that majority doesn’t do any good if one of the people in it flip. The threat was significant – if he had pulled it off, it would have completely changed the game and possibly put the Casaya alliance on the losing side. Bobby had to be dealt with before that happened.

It’s not often that the seventh rule comes into play these days, and it’s even more infrequent that I have to cite the final paragraph of the rule – in fact, I can’t remember the last time it happened. It says: “A quick note: On the flipside of providing food being a plus, stealing food is a definite minus.” Bobby took the last bottle of wine and without so much as a by-your-leave, he decided to down it himself. Sure, he ended up sharing some with Bruce, but he was the one who actually grabbed the bottle and committed the crime of grand theft wine. Not smart.

The final rule says the Casaya tribe members should have been looking to vote off a weak link at this point. There are a number of people who could have fit this bill. Courtney is annoying just about everybody and hurting tribal unity. Aras thinks that he’s in charge and is similarly hurting tribal unity. Shane is insane. Bruce hurt the tribe’s chances in the reward challenge. The list goes on.

Bobby was good in challenges – he was really the one who won reward for them. But he was a weak link in the way we’ve already discussed. Bobby was not thought to be trustworthy by a majority of the tribe, and if that was indeed the case, that is a huge problem as the merge approaches.

So two different camps formed. One thought Bruce should go as the weakest link. The other aimed at Bobby for a similar reason. The anti-Bobby camp won out.

Bobby is not stupid by any means. I think if he had applied himself to the game a bit more, he could have made it at least to the merge, if not further. However, Bobby allowed himself to be caught up in the negativity of Casaya. He couldn’t stand his tribemates, and he let that be seen. Not only did this put them off, but it made them conclude (probably correctly) that Bobby would flip against them at a moment’s notice if given the opportunity.

If he had been a little nicer to them, if he hadn’t shown such disdain for them, if he hadn’t painted a target on himself by drinking the wine – any of these might have saved Bobby. But Bobby put together an ultimately fatal combination of causing people to dislike him without having an alliance to fall back on. That is why Bobby lost.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our Survivor: Exile Island Episode 5 recap:

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

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