Survivor: China, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly and the Hilarious, Episodes 6-8 – Sweet Justice
by Wesley Rice
-- 11/15/2007
In Wesley’s view, things are going pretty well on Survivor. Does that mean he found more Good moments on the show than Bad or Ugly? And where does Hilarious fit in? Here is one hint: The picture to the right was definitely seen as a Good!
Eight Survivors have been sent packing, and for the most part they haven’t been any of my favorite players. So you’d think everything would be wonderful in my little world, right? Well, yeah. Pretty much it is. Oh sure, there’s plenty to still complain about, but overall this has been a truly classic season, enhanced largely by the strategic game play.
That said, not every episode has enough going on to sustain an entire article. So I’ve decided to combine a few more. And this time I’ve added a new category, because as Good, Bad, and Ugly as things get, occasionally they’re too Hilarious to put into any of those categories.
Oh, and one other thing before I get to the goods. I’ve got to say I found the new revamped opening really interesting and a nice change of pace. If you haven’t noticed, check out the opening credits this week. They no longer include all the players from the original tribes. Now they show only those in the combined tribe, plus the jury. A refreshing change of pace (unless you were kicked off before the merge, which means you’ve been shafted).
The Good:
Peih-Gee finding the opportunity mid-challenge to communicate with Sherea. Her tactics were sound. She found a place away from all the others and, despite being caught up in the middle of a challenge, still managed to let Sherea know that they had her back. Of course, Sherea squandered this by not responding, but it helped Peih-Gee nonetheless.
Todd approaching James about the immunity clue. Todd set himself up nicely with James by taking James’ decision about the immunity clue into his own hands. I don’t see why everyone didn’t do this. “I’ll give you the clue if you share the info with me…” Uh, yeah, that makes sense.
Frosti being in the right place at the right time. I loved how Frosti managed to not only to come down to the pagoda when Todd and Amanda were searching for the idol, but he used his super monkey powers to climb right up and grab the dealie. I’ve not hidden my support of Frosti since day one, and I think a Frosti/Todd/Amanda alliance would be perfect for this series.
James with double-immunity. Sweetness. Apart from Frosti and Amanda, my favorite player is James, who’s suddenly gone from the next player out to the undisputed ruler of the game.
Ninja buffs. If only they could grant their wearers the power to sneak undetected anywhere in the camp, they’d be perfect. Still, though, they got ninja buffs!!
Chinese acrobats! Once more the local culture is integrated into the show with fabulous effects.
The turn-around in Courtney’s attitude. Okay, I realize that she’s about as snarky as ever, but at least now we can see that she has a sense of humor about it all. Perhaps it’s just the Jean-Robert smell in the air that’s made her seem that much better. I guess we’ll see pretty soon, because…
Sweet justice. Jean-Robert is finally sent packing. His arrogant, chauvinistic stench has been fouling up the joint since the first episode. There have been parts of this show that were simply painful to watch with him around. Thank goodness he’s off my screen (until the finale anyway).
The Bad:
Todd sharing immunity info with Amanda. Of all the people he should be hiding immunity info from, it’s Amanda. She’s by far his cleverest ally, and as such, the one he needs the most leverage against down the road.
Plenty of product placement. Oh look, it’s the Charmin Teahouse! The ultra strong Charmin bear is here to hawk its wares (remember those annoying multi-colored bears running down the beach together?). Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need for product placement. What annoys me is when they make it so blatant without openly admitting it. I’m all for “and now a few words from our sponsors.” But don’t try to convince me that they’re just at a day spa when the entire spa is laced with ads.
Todd’s complete mishandling of the immunity idol. What?! He just GAVE it to James. Come on already! I understand him wanting James to have immunity. But he could just as easily have told James about how to get immunity at the other tribe while all the while holding onto his own idol. At the very least there should have been a “return to me after a non-use” clause.
Flubbed immunity plans. Peih-gee and Jaime didn’t follow through with their plan to throw both challenges. This ultimately defeats the purpose of throwing the first challenge. Either they throw both or none. Just throwing one got them nowhere. Granted, if they had thrown it, Jaime would have been gone anyway, due to James’ immunity. But given the information they had, they definitely didn’t make the right choice at the time.
The Ugly:
That stupid red bear wiping the toilet paper off the other’s rump. Is there anyone here who wants to see pieces of cartoon dingleberry-paper while watching Survivor? Spare us this insidious commercial, please!
Mau Dje Don (Belut). It was gross then. It’s gross today. Even the lunch lady couldn’t get it down, and you know she’s seen some pretty nasty food in her day.
Looking through bags for immunity. I guess I understand the reason for it. But there’s something about a person’s pack that I feel should be sacrosanct. That’s right, I said sacrosanct! What are you gonna do about it, huh?
The Hilarious:
Jaime thinking she had the idol. I could barely stop laughing, just long enough to hear her say, “I’m not as dumb as I look.” Oh, my sides!
The look on Jean-Robert’s face when he thought Jaime had the idol. As the one fellow who’s always out of the loop, his fear of the “hidden immunity” made this Tribal Council that much funnier.
The Verdict:
The good and the hilarious easily outweigh the bad and the ugly! This is what I like to see out of my Survivor season. Let’s hope the plotting keeps going strong until the end.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: China articles here on RealityNewsOnline:
Wesley is an English teacher and writer from Wichita, KS. He’s still wondering when there’ll be a challenge featuring enough parkour for Frosti to show off. He can be reached with questions, comments, or snide remarks at Musnud@gmail.com.
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