Survivor: Cook Islands – Why Did the Blond Become a Mutineer?

Thursday night wasn’t the first time we’ve seen Jeff Probst offer players a chance to jump tribes in the game of Survivor, but it WAS the first time we’ve seen any of them take him up on his offer. The reason no one had done it before this simple: if you jump, you’re instantly an outsider, and therefore an obvious boot should your tribe lose immunity.

Let’s start off by answering the title question: why DID the blond, a/k/a Candice, become a mutineer? Take your pick from the following theories:

A. She thinks the Raros already love her, not unlike how Billy thought she really loved HIM. But except for Adam, she may be even more delusional than Billy.

B. She thought Jeff Probst said, “Matinee,” and she was in the mood for a good movie.

C. She can’t stand Probst and thought he said, “Mute me.” Too bad her luxury item wasn’t a remote control.

D. She actually fell in “love at first sight” with Probst, and when he said, “Mutiny,” she heard it as, “You and me,” and thought he was talking directly to her.

E. She thought Probst actually said, “Manatee,” and has always wanted to see one, and here was her chance.

F. She wanted to make sure my colleague Heathyr had material for her next “M.I.A.” column.

I saw this happen once in an online version of the game: someone jumped at the chance to jump, and when her tribe lost, they bid her adieu, citing the fact that they really didn’t know her the way they did the others in their tribe. The difference this time was Candice and Jonathan had already been in a tribe with Parvati and Adam, so Raro wasn’t completely unknown to them.

Having said that, did she and Jonathan make a smart move? Probably not, but for different reasons. In Candice’s case, she has obviously incurred the wrath of the Aitu tribe, as witnessed by their decision to send her to Exile Island. Speaking of which, has there been a funnier piece of footage this season than watching all four Aitus say Candice’s name in unison? It was the kind of moment you usually find only in sitcoms, i.e. the Cheers cast yelling, “Norm!” Only this time, it wasn’t such a good thing to have your name called.

Anyway, we now know that at least some of the Aitus will be part of the jury. With that in mind, would any of them vote for Candice should she make the final two, even against Jonathan? Should she make it that far, she may be on the receiving end of one of the most lopsided votes in Survivor history. Listening to the four barbecue her during Tribal Council may make for some of the most explosive footage this side of Sue’s “snakes and rats” speech.

In Jonathan’s case, the move may prove fatal because Candice is already turning on him, only he doesn’t know it yet, and he’s already more of an outsider than she is anyway. Something tells me the tribe will boot him before it boots her.

A couple of quotes from Jonathan warrant examination. First, there was his statement that he considered himself a loyal guy. But as Nate noted, Jonathan was saying this to people who’d already watched him sell out his old tribe. It’s like the cheating husband who tells his mistress that he’ll be with her to the end once he leaves his wife. To quote a lyric from the group Bailey and the Boys, “If she’d love a man / who’d take the ring off of his hand / and then turn around and say that he’d be true / she deserves you.”

Jonathan went on the say the game was all about trust. Tell that to your old tribemates, Jonathan. In fact, Ozzy noted that mutineers are the first to die. Well, Jonathan may not have died, but his chances of winning probably did, unless he and Candice make the final two. At this point, I’d lay greater odds on the youth-oriented American Idol having a winner with gray hair… oops, bad example.

Let’s take a look at Brad. Did anyone else cringe when he stated that after the merge it’s every man for himself? My first thought when he said that was of Survivor: Outback, when the players stuck together vote-wise after the merge. Right then and there it was clear Brad wasn’t too familiar with the game. In his RNO interview, he clarified his comments, stating that soon after the merge, everyone would be vying for the million dollars. What he doesn’t realize is people are doing that from the get-go, even before the merge. Each move in the game, in theory, is made with an eye to the future.

He also mentioned wanting to play the game with honesty, the second straight bootee to bring up such a point. Show me someone who mentions playing the game with honesty and I’ll show you someone who doesn’t quite understand the game.

In that same interview, Brad said hindsight was 20/20, and he wished he’d stepped off the mat. But would that have increased his chances at winning? As he alluded to, he would’ve had the entire Raro tribe mad at him, but on the other hand, he would theoretically form a majority with original tribemates Yul and Becky, so he would probably make the merge.