Survivor: Cook Islands – Why Jessica Lost

The third rule tells players to be flexible. A large part of this rule talks about blending in to your tribe – for example, if they work hard, you should work hard; if they’re lazy, you should be lazy. This needs to be extended for Jessica. If your tribe wants to sit around and compare underarm hair length, you should perhaps consider joining them rather than running off to play on the reef or go exploring. Is it dull and boring? Hell yes. So you need to decide if you want to have a short adventure or a long stay on Survivor. Jessica preferred the adventure, and that was her choice. But for the purposes of the game, that was the wrong choice.

Really, it comes down to a decision between emotion and strategy. I’m sure being out there on the island can be looked at as a fun experience, especially if that is your usual nature. But the fourth rule tells players to allow their emotions to control them. While this is usually aimed at people becoming too friendly with their tribemates or letting their anger get the best of them, I think it can also cover issues like this one – where Jessica allowed her emotions to control her, wanting to have fun instead of focusing on playing the game.

The fifth rule discusses how people need to pretend to be nice. Jessica didn’t have much of a problem in this regard, as she seemed very friendly. However, the friendliness only extended to sharing peanut butter kisses, not to the point of an actual alliance. Besides that, Jessica was the friendliest with Cao Boi, and they sent him packing a week earlier!

Sixth is not to be too much of a threat. Jessica was not a threat in the physical sense – though she probably was stronger than some of her fellow women. She was instead a threat in the strategic sense, and this relates back to what I said about her tribemates preferring to keep a creepy Jonathan over her. Because Jessica was not a schemer and mostly just wanted to have fun, there was no way of telling what she might do in future votes. If there is a merge, would she stay with them or go over to the other side? At least with Jonathan, there is the feeling that he would stand by his alliance. Certainly he will try to turn on them at some point, but his allies likely believe they can trust him for at least a little while. Jessica, not so much.

The seventh rule reminds us that providing food wins allies while laziness works just the opposite. While Jessica was not lazy, she was one of two obvious outsiders, with Ozzy being the other. Ozzy provided fish, coconuts, and even a bird! Jessica provided… well, I think she helped with the fishing, but she is no Aquaman like Ozzy. So when it came down to a decision between the two of them, Ozzy won himself some allies through their stomachs. Jessica did not.

Did Jessica’s tribemates make the right decision overall? I would have to say yes. The merge is drawing near, and Ozzy will become a threat once that occurs. But it’s not here yet and he certainly helps in tribal challenges. Also, if the main alliance can bring Ozzy in under their wing, at least for a little while, they can bide their time and get rid of him later. Certainly they have to make sure they don’t forget about him, but I doubt that will happen. Jessica, meanwhile, likely could not be taken under their wing and could have bolted at the first opportunity. She needed to go.

Jessica came into Survivor: Cook Islands almost the way some people came into the very first season – fairly clueless about strategy. While I know she was recruited and had other things on her mind, there is no real excuse for failing to get a handle on the most basic aspects of the game. Yes, she wanted to have an adventure. I’m sure she’s a nice person and it was fun while it lasted, but this column discusses why people lost. In this case, we have to be blunt.

Jessica did not understand scheming and plotting. She completely failed to do it early on, and when she eventually tried, it was too late and not gone about the right way. She put herself in a position where she became an outsider on her own tribe, a position destined for difficulty. Jessica wanted to do her own thing. She did, and her tribemates let her do her own thing right out the door. That is why Jessica lost.

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

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