Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 1 MVP – Why Did the Chickens Cross the Road?

Hooray! It’s time for another season of Survivor! Thanks to the twist of dividing tribes by race, this has probably been the most talked about season of the show yet. Several people have asked me what my take is on it. All I could say was that I was keeping an open mind. That and my cynical side made me think that the four tribes divided by ethnicity would only last for so long. I predict that by episode 4, the tribes will be mixed up. We shall see. For now, I think that the “social experiment” is being handled well and that it’s nice to see such a diverse group of Survivors.

For those of you not familiar with the Survivor Most Valuable Player award, here are the basics. Each week, I’ll give the MVP award to the player in each tribe who played the best. That might mean that he or she performed well in a challenge, did something great around camp, or laid down some spectaular strategy. With twenty players on four tribes this episode, it was hard to pick out MVPs for each tribe, but I’ll do my best. Let’s give out some awards!

Aitu

Billy took charge as soon as his tribe landed, full of plans for how to build the shelter. Too bad he didn’t seem to know what he was doing. Ozzy, on the other hand, quietly took over and directed the rest of the tribe in putting together a place to live. Unlike Billy (Sekou in the Hiki tribe), Ozzy took leadership without drawing attention to himself. That was a smart move, as leaders tend to not fare well on Survivor, either resented by their own tribe or targeted after the merge. Ozzy also did a great job of scaling the trees to get both fronds and coconuts for everyone. For that reason, Ozzy is the MVP of the Aitu tribe. Nice work, Ozzy!

Puka

I really can’t single out any one member of this tribe who played better than the others. All five of them seemed to do well in the challenge, and they seemed to win it pretty easily. Cao Boi succeeding in unifying his tribe, but I’m not giving him the MVP, since I suspect that they’re all united in their opinion that he’s a nutball and they’ll vote him out as soon as they get a chance. So, no MVP for Puka this week. Maybe I’ll give away two next week.

Raro

Kudos to Jonathan for stealing the chickens when he had the chance. Remember in Pearl Islands when Rupert stole the other tribe’s shoes and bartered them? This was even smarter, since the tribe scored a great protein source for his trouble. Too bad that didn’t last, since moronic Jessica/Flicka/New Courtney accidentally set them free. I thought it was also smart of Jonathan to play dumb about whether or not he actually stole the chicken when Jeff asked him about it. It was believable that, in the chaos, he might not have known that the other tribe had laid claim to the chicken. He was sent to Exile Island for his troubles, but it might not hurt him. He was exiled because of something he did to help his tribe, so while Puka might not be the Jonathan Fan Club, Raro probably appreciates him. Besides, when the time comes to vote someone out, Jessica is a much easier choice. I’m going to give Jonathan an honorable mention this week.

I think that this week, Candice played even smarter than Jonathan did. She made a quick alliance with Adam, her snuggle buddy. Besides the obvious appeal of getting close to Adam, she has now formed a relationship with a big strong guy who no one is going to want to vote out any time soon. I also thought Candice performed well at the challenge. As soon as the puzzle was put together, Candice was off like a shot to start assembling the ladder, wasting absolutely no time. True, the rest of her tribe screwed up by not bringing the puzzle pieces, but she can’t do everything. Candice seems both smart and strong, so she is the MVP this week for Raro.

I do have one more honorable mention for Raro. That award goes to the chickens, who took their opportunity for freedom as soon as they could. Godspeed, chickens. Here’s hoping none of you were eaten by sharks.

Hiki

Since Hiki was the first tribe to go to tribal council, we saw more of their dynamics than anyone else’s. Sundra and Rebecca bonded, as did Sekou and Nate, leaving Stephannie with only the extra n in her name to keep her company. She had to choose between aligning herself with the other women or with the men, and neither was really a good choice. She could tell that Sundra and Rebecca were close friends. And Sekou, like a fool, told her that he and Nate were close. She’s fine at the next tribal council, at which they’ll likely get rid of Nate, but what happens after that? Sundra and Rebecca won’t turn on each other, so all Stephannie can do is hope that there’s a merge or tribal switch before then.

So, who gets the MVP? Not Sekou, obviously, who turned off his headstrong tribe and got voted out. Not Nate, who made the mistake of letting Sekou do the talking for them with Stephannie. Not Stephannie, who basically could have made just as good of a choice with a coin toss. Not Sundra who, had that coin toss gone a different way, would have been voted out. So by default, I have to give the MVP award to Rebecca. She performed well enough in the challenge that her name didn’t come up as a possible boot, and along with Sundra, she convincd Stephannie to stick with the ladies. It wasn’t the greatest performance ever, but on her tribe, it was the best.

I’ll see you all next week for another round of MVP awards!

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: Cook Islands articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with feedback and MVP nominations at Betsywasser@Gmail.com.

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