Survivor: Fiji – Why Dreamz Lost

Dreamz turned into Nightmarez for Yau-Man, but it has also been suggested that he was a nightmare unto himself. Did the truck deal mean the car curse followed him and ensured he could not win? Or was there something else that knocked him out of contention? Why did Dreamz lose?

In my interview with Yau-Man, he said of Dreamz that he was not “capable of such organized thought,” referring to whether or not Dreamz planned all along to break the deal. But around here, organized thought is what we’re all about. So let’s organize our thinking about Dreamz by following the logic of What Fiji Survivors Should Have Learned.

Dreamz fully understood the importance of the first rule, scheming and plotting. He said in my interview with him that he came into the game with a plan ahead of time to leave his honor and morals behind, and to be a snake or a rat whenever necessary.

Indeed, we saw this behavior on several occasions. The two most obvious ones were when he turned on the Four Horsemen alliance and when he reneged on his promise to give immunity to Yau-Man at the final four Tribal Council. Dreamz obviously had no problem swearing loyalty to somebody while simultaneously sharpening the knife he intended to plunge into their back.

However, what Dreamz claims now is obviously not the whole story. Yes, he says he always intended to betray Yau-Man, and it was all a game move. But it simply doesn’t make sense. If that were the case, why did he confide to the cameras in private moments that he would honor his deal so his son could see what kind of person he was? There was absolutely no reason to do that if he intended to go back on his word.

Sure, Dreamz has an excuse for that, telling me that he did it so he would “look like a good person” even as he planned to hopefully vote out Yau-Man before the final four. But that simply does not make sense.

Every one of Dreamz’ final five companions – those who spent the most time with him and knew him best – told me they think Dreamz fully intended to honor the deal at first, and only decided at the last minute to go back on it. Dreamz, on the other hand, gives us baloney rationalizations.

But wait! Shouldn’t we be applauding Dreamz for making a game move like this? After all, it was quite a Machiavellian move he made. He stabbed Yau-Man not only in the back, but straight through to the heart.

Yes and no. Dreamz did make a devious move and it did get him farther in the game – to a second-place tie. That meant more money for him and he kept the truck. But he also ensured that there was absolutely no way he could win. And if Cassandra had gotten a single vote, he would have only moved up one rung on the Survivor ladder, to third place.

Dreamz needed to make a move earlier to ensure that he was never in this position. Yes, I know he tried to do it when they were at the final six, but Yau-Man figured it out and pulled the immunity idol on them. I know he tried to do it again when they were at five, and Yau-Man won immunity. But he needed to make his move even earlier than that.

The fact of the matter is that Dreamz could not face either Earl or Yau-Man in the finals and have any chance of winning. That went back to before the truck deal, even. So Dreamz should have been planning to bring along Boo, Stacy, and Cassandra to the final four. Getting that group together was the key move he failed to make.

Let’s move on. In discussing the first rule, I mentioned the two most obvious times when Dreamz schemed and plotted. Unfortunately, they were also the two most obvious times when he schemed and plotted too much, in violation of the second rule.

Betraying the Four Horsemen was something Dreamz felt he needed to do. As he told me, “in my heart they were never my alliance.” He always planned to go with Cassandra and Earl. But he needed to do something to get rid of the other three in a way that didn’t make it so obvious that he was responsible. He was entrusted with information about the hidden immunity idol, and he passed that along. Despite his weak attempt to claim to Alex and Mookie that he had been betrayed too, it was obvious to one and all that he was the man holding the bloody knife after it had been pulled out of Edgardo’s back.

Similarly, Dreamz should have thought a bit longer before taking up Yau-Man on the truck deal. I’m sure his adrenaline was running high and he was excited at the offer, but he was the one who claimed to always have been planning his betrayal, which indicates he thought it through. Yau-Man told me he didn’t believe Dreamz could think through everything on such short notice, and I agree. Dreamz just jumped at the chance and then had to play the rest of the game in the shadow of that deal. When he turned on Yau-Man, he ensured that there was absolutely, positively no way he could win, period. He almost certainly couldn’t have anyway, but this was the final nail in the coffin.

The third rule tells players to be flexible. While Dreamz did stick with his main alliance throughout the game, in apparent defiance of this rule, he also took steps along the way to make it appear that he wasn’t always with that alliance – thus being able to trick Mookie, Edgardo, and Alex into believing that he was at least somewhat reliable.

Also, Dreamz was ready and willing to dump certain members of his alliance if he thought it would get him farther, as we saw when he kept going after Yau-Man. Unlike Cassandra, Dreamz recognized that staying true to an alliance that ensures a loss was not a good idea in the game.

Fourth is to not let emotions control you. In general, Dreamz did a pretty good job of this. However, he had two problems. The first is obviously when he broke down and cried at Tribal Council when he decided not to honor his deal with Yau-Man. He gave me a BS reason for crying, but it was obvious to one and all that he was doing so because of his own inner conflict.