Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 3’s Missing Intelligence Award

Well, we doubled the amount of time the start-off “twist” lasted from one Survivor to the next. Two whole episodes of four teams. Woo hoo. I still think three to four episodes makes it a twist. One or two makes it a slight curve in the road. Ah well, what do I know?

Shaking it up definitely, well, shakes it up, however, which makes for a fun episode. We saw some scrambling and shifting going on. Some people made good choices, others didn’t, others tried, but along the way screwed up in their tactics, which might come and bite them later. Who then gets the MIA this week? Let’s find out!

Cao Boi and Jessica, you are my runners-up for this week’s award. First off, on principle alone, people who are all “gee, groovy, baby, I’m just here totally for the experience” grate. You’re playing a game. Play it. There are thousands of others who want the experience and the game, so get off my screen. Secondly, neither of you seem to want to adapt socially. I hate to break it to you, but in real life as well as Survivor you sometimes have to adapt, tone down, whatever. It’s just how life is. It doesn’t make you less “true” to yourself; it makes you socially responsible.

However, the big reason you are here as a runner-up is because as a duo, you made a huge mistake in my book. Yul, Becky, Candice, and Jonathan are a seemingly solid four. They only needed a fifth person to sway the numbers this time and the next time. Then the fifth person becomes extraneous. With Candice on Exile Island, they needed two more, and they got them. When Candice returns, however, they don’t need both of you. They can force a tie if you swap back to Ozzy. Or, they can play you both and get rid of one of you next and still have a majority of four. You have become extraneous fluff to them. To Ozzy and Sundra, you are betraying fluff. In desperation, however, they’ll have to reach out to you.

The two of you better hope that Ozzy and Sundra want you, and that one of the foursome gets sent to Exile Island so suddenly you have the numbers. And this time, you better not flip on them again. Otherwise, your time in the game should be short in my book, and that makes what you did a dumb move, and MIA worthy.

Why then aren’t the two of you winning? Because I think Jonathan may have shown even less intelligence then you in some ways.

Jonathan reads people badly. That’s the only conclusion I can draw after this episode. Everything about Jessica’s body language screamed “I AM NOT TRUSTING YOU” in their first conversation. Then, he had the idiocy to be surprised when she told him Becky was going? To top it off, he browbeat Jessica some in trying to convince her of the rightness of his way.

Guess what? YOUR way, Jonathan, is not good for her. It is good for your foursome. Flaky and annoying she may be, but to truly get someone on your side, you have to offer what’s best for them (or lie about it). Dude, did you not realize Jessica was not hearing a damned word you said? She looked like my 10-year-old when we’re chewing her butt. Whiny, pouty, and not at all paying attention. You were so much white noise, and that was it. Unless you fix it, this bodes poorly for you.

Yul swayed Cao Boi somehow (that still shocks me), who then swayed Jessica. This doesn’t shock me, because Cao Boi knew how to play Jessica. He recognized her type (it’s like him) and she trusted him, so when he said, “let’s do this” she vacillated some, but ultimately agreed. I don’t think Jonathan alone would have convinced her. Heck, I think Jonathan’s work alone might have convinced her to tell the other group to vote for Jonathan because of his bossiness!

Jessica now can have time to sit back and think and feel “bad vibes” about what she did and how you treated her. She now might flip on you, especially if you come off any more like that “guy who knows best and you’d better come my way” sort. THAT GUY needs to disappear. By going back the second time to pound your way into her head, you win this Missing Intelligence trophy for the week for the long-term ramifications it might have on your game.

Some quick thoughts for the end:

Did anyone else hope that it was Becky, but that Yul had given her the idol, so it was Cecilia anyway?

Anyone else have Simon & Garfunkel in their heads while they were voting for Cecilia?

Nate, thank you for the awesome combo of cool glasses and shirtlessness.

Yul, more shirtlessness.

That will be all.

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

Heathyr Fields Ford welcomes MIA nominations and other commentary at heathyranne@hotmail.com. She especially welcomes links to Yul shirtlessness.

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